What We've Learned From Complaints - July Update
Every month, we look closely at the complaints and service requests we receive from customers. This helps us spot problems and make things better.
Here’s what we found in July:
How many complaints did we get in July?
- We had 16 Stage 1 complaints
- We had 1 Stage 2 complaint (this is when someone isn’t happy with how their Stage 1 complaint was handled)
- We also had 62 service requests (these are things we can sort out quickly without needing a formal complaint)
The number of complaints is similar to this time last year. Our data shows that fewer complaints usually happen in summer.
We did see a sharp rise in service requests. This was linked to a change in the way we manage service requests for one of our contractors.
What were the complaints about?
The most common problems were:
- Missed appointments
- Quality of Works
- Poor communication
Most of the complaints linked to these problems are about one-off issues. These are passed directly to our contractors and fixed.
We’ve also started a project to look closely at the data to understand why things go wrong and how we can stop them from happening again.
How quickly did we respond?
- On average, we replied to complaints in 4 working days in July
- So far this year, the average is 7 working days, which meets the required timescales from the Housing Ombudsman (10 working days)
Were people happy with how we handled their complaint?
Yes – everyone who filled out our survey in July said they were satisfied with how we handled their complaint. That’s 100% satisfaction for the month and for the year so far.
Compensation
- We paid out £1,496 in compensation in July
- That brings the total so far this year to £12,953
Your Voice customers told us that we needed to be more consistent in our approach to paying compensation. We have reviewed these processes and are confident that this is now happening. We will keep speaking to customers to make sure they are seeing this, too.
Did we reject any complaints?
No – we accepted all complaints in July and for the year so far.
What are we learning?
We're using this feedback to:
- Spot common problems
- Take action faster
- Work better with our contractors
- Keep improving the service for you
We’re also looking at better ways to track who and where our complaints are coming from to help stop things from going wrong in the first place.
Complaints help us improve and make things better, not only for you but for all of our customers. If something’s gone wrong, please let us know.
You can find out more about our complaints process or make a complaint by clicking here.
You can also read our complaints policy by clicking here.
