Throughout 2023/24, 441 complaints were received, which is 96 fewer from the previous year.
Most complaints were dealt with successfully as “quick fix” enquiries (294) and did not develop into ‘Investigation’ Stage complaints. Service managers responded to 105 Investigation Stage complaints, with Senior Managers dealing with 42 Review Stage complaints. The Trust no longer operate with a ‘quick fix’ stage in line with the changes to the Housing Ombudsman Service code in April 24. The Trust have only refused two complaints due to them being under the ‘exclusion’ list and were being dealt with as disrepair claims.
Complaints about repairs saw the greatest reduction in number from the previous year, as improvements in the repairs process became further embedded.
The Trust upheld 65% of complaints during April 23-March 24. This was an increase of 8% on the previous year. This is largely due to staff admitting fault where we have failed the customer and taking a less ‘defensive’ approach.
It is acknowledged that across the sector, repairs services receive the highest number of complaints compared to other teams. This is because of the high number of interactions between customers and the repairs’ function, as well as the intrusive nature of repairs works. It works out at 1.8% of repairs result in a complaint about the service. It is important to know that the team also receive the most compliments within the business!
