Complaints Reports

Complaints and Compliments Annual Report 2023-24

On behalf of the Fairhive Board, I’m pleased to be able to publish our Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report along with our Self-Assessment against the Complaint Handling Code.

The information feeding into the Report builds up over the year and enables teams to understand the trends and root causes identified from complaints and helps them to focus on the areas where we are not delivering to expectations.

The Self-Assessment is crucial in determining our compliance with meeting all the requirements of the Complaint Handling Code and defines how we handle complaints. These elements are incorporated in to our policies and procedures and provides both employees and our residents with clear guidelines on what they can expect when things go wrong, putting matters right and most importantly learning from them.   

The Board considers the publication of both documents as an important step in increasing transparency in how we operate and being accountable to our residents. We have a well-established and engaged Resident Complaints Group, and it is encouraging to see the important role they play in scrutinising performance on complaints.

The Board has appointed one of its members to be the Member Responsible for Complaints as required under the Code who makes sure the Board is kept informed on the handling of complaints.

We look forward to seeing that the improvements made during the year have a positive impact on our residents and encourage employees to listen to our residents’ feedback on what is important to them.

Stephen Stringer, Chair of the Board

 

 

Take a look at our first annual complaints report below. Our Self-Assessment form.pdf 658KB was completed in April this year.

The Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report

An analysis of the Tenant Satisfaction Measure for complaints of 46.22%, indicated that the majority of residents, who indicate dissatisfaction, do not have a formal complaint logged with us, and it appears that a negative experience with the service area can skew their view of the complaints handling process.

We saw the impact of catching up on a backlog of works, particularly in the repairs area. Increased volumes of work during Quarter 4 coupled with reduced employee capacity following employee turnover and sickness negatively affected our ability to investigate and respond to complaints in a timely manner. A review of the complaints management process is underway to improve on our response timescales, and to enhance the complainants’ experience.

 

Number of complaints received by quarter each year

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
Complaints received by quarter – 2023/24	140	99	124	170	533
Complaints received by quarter – 2022/23	42	69	88	132	331

 

The volume of complaints has more than doubled since the Ombudsman released the Complaint Handling Code in 2020.  An increase of 61% is seen when comparing to the previous year from 331 in 2022/23 to 533 in 2024/25.

Number of complaints received per year

	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24
Number of complaints received	268	331	533

 

As expected, and previously noted, the number of complaints continues to increase year on year, however the numbers represent a small percentage of our contact points with customers (around 1%).

114 complaints were cancelled and dealt with as service requests, withdrawn by the resident or formed part of the exclusions such as first time ASB reports.

16 complaints were escalated to Stage 2 in the year. Stage 2 is when a resident escalates their complaint to the next stage in our process because they remain unhappy with the outcome and solution offered. A different and more senior manager then reviews the complaint and the outcome. 

We have two stages – the complaint enters stage one when the resident logs it with us, we acknowledge within 5 days and we aim to send a response within 10 working days.

533 complaints were received directly from residents, a further 62 enquiries/complaints were received via MPs and Councillors. These complaints are responded to in line with the complaints procedure with an additional step to provide an update to the MP office.

Twelve Ombudsman cases have been received this financial year. Seven have been closed with no finding of fault by the Ombudsman and five cases are ongoing: three relate to outstanding repairs, one to noise nuisance and the other to silverfish infestation. No determinations have been received this year.  

Despite nearly double the volume of complaints, we have only seen a slight dip in the complaints responded to within prescribed timescales from 86% in 2022/23 to 82.42% in 2023/24.

Responsive repairs had the highest number of complaints (145) followed by Tenancy services (72).

 

Complaints by team - 2023-24

Data on chart shows complaints by team 2023-24

Cancelled	114
Repairs	145
Tenancy Services/Estates	72
Planned	32
External Contract Investment Programmes	28
Income/Leasehold	26
Electrical	26
Lettings	22
Contact Centre	19
Heating	19
Development	15
Voids	9
Independent Living	4
Finance	1
Comms	1
Fleet	1

 

Responsive repairs continue to receive the highest number of complaints due to both the large number of resident contacts, and the nature of their work.  It should be noted that 60% of their complaints were received in the second half of the year, during the winter period, which brings with it a higher focus on emergency repairs. As expected a spike was seen in the cases of damp and mould complaints during the colder season and a revised focus in this area has assisted in promptly dealing with these cases.

 

Complaint Themes

There were four key themes across the complaints received, which align with the areas of focus highlighted from customer feedback:

 

Root Cause - Core Theme - 2023-24

Poor Service	38%
Poor Communication	38%
Poor Quality of Work	22%
Damp & Mould	3%

 

Poor Service:

Where the work carried out was not up to the standard or delivered in a time frame expected by Fairhive or the resident. Examples include delayed works on the grounds maintenance contract; lack of contractor monitoring by our employees and behaviours displayed in resident interactions. Employee behaviour cases are investigated by the manager and discussed with the relevant employee. Examples in this theme include employees disagreeing with a residents view on what work needs to be completed during a repair; employees being rude; ignoring resident’s concerns and providing the wrong advice. Close work with the Learning & Development team is in progress to include themes in the upcoming customer service training for 2024/25.

Communication and managing expectations:

Lack of clarity from employees either verbal or written leading to complaints from residents who felt mis-led by employees. These are resolved by the investigating manager taking additional time to ensure the resident fully understands the steps being taken and reason for the same.  Improvements will also result from clearer information being provided on timescales for responses, and a simplified reporting process for reporting managers. 

Poor quality of works:

Where the standard of the completed works are not to the resident’s expectations, there are multiple visits for the same repair or where the job has not been fully completed. Closer monitoring of job completion and a post inspection regime, will improve this theme.  Both of these have been implemented during the year and will be closely monitored going forward.

Damp & Mould:

Where there are repeated visits and the issue remains unresolved. A revised damp and mould process with a dedicated resource for inspections is in place to act quickly on reported cases.

 

Responding to your complaints

Improved response times will remain a key area of focus with the implementation of the Tenant Satisfaction Measures.

% of complaints responded to on target

% of complaints responded to on target	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	2023/24 Year to Date	2022/2023 Year to Date
On Time 2023/24	82% (85/104)	93% (66/71)	86% (65/76)	71% (56/79)	82% (272/330)	86% (265/307)
Late 2023/24	16% (19/104)	7% (5/71)	14% (11/76)	29% (23/79)	18% (58/330)	14% (42/307)

 

Delays in response times during Quarter 4, caused by employee resource/changes and increased workloads have negatively affected the overall end of year performance result. Where possible, resident expectations were managed within formal response times and updates were provided via phone or email. Response delays occurred mainly in the repairs area which received the highest volume of complaints. We are in the process of reviewing the management of complaints to not only enhance the complainants’ experience as they go through the process, but also in meeting the expected timescales.

Improvement opportunities identified during complaint investigations includes:

 

Themes and Learnings identified

Root Cause	Themes	Learnings Identified and Actions Taken
Poor Communication	Misunderstanding or miscommunication when speaking to residents or when passing between departments. Lack of contact to advise of unavoidable delays or when works will be carried out/followed on. Unable to get hold of specific staff. Calls not returned Not enough information provided to complete works in a timely manner. Outcomes of cases not clearly provided to residents. Resident was only communicated with one method i.e. Phone, and we did not attempt to use any other form before closing something down. Clarity on tenant responsibilities and that of Fairhive. Hand-over between departments Process or timescales for works not in line with resident expectations, i.e. resident expects quicker turnaround	Callbacks must be captured on QL and monitored/addressed by teams Re-inforce to ensure sufficient information (eg. photos) is captured at point of contact. Ensure resident’s contact details are up to date and all contact attempts are captured on QL. Resident contact preference is considered, i.e. contact via phone or email Ensure all forms of communication are explored and given a reasonable time-frame for response. Ensure the resident is kept up-to-date when handing over matters. Communication plan set up for bigger works so resident is kept informed. Publicise repair types and their timescales for completion.
Poor Service	Operatives/contractors being rude or poor behaviour on site. Follow on works not booked in or follow-up actions not taken Having to chase for repair work to be completed/long wait for repairs. Prompt answering of out of hours calls Level of enforcements taken on perpetrators of ASB Grounds Maintenance service was not carried out to the standards expected. Incorrect Information given resulting in disadvantage to the resident Residents dissatisfied with call handling for the arrears process Rude behaviour by call handlers	Address the poor behaviour with the contractor’s managers and speak with our operatives about their attitude in their one to ones. Planners are now being given reports to better assess if follow on works are required and to keep the resident informed. Look to improve the service standards expected of our OOH team. Ongoing monitoring of Idverde’s service provision Raise errors with individuals concerned and identify training needs Review call scripts (Arrears calls) Investigate call handling course – dealing with difficult/challenging calls Front-line calls to be recorded to ensure any training needs are addressed
Damp & Mould	Poorly installed carpets by resident led to rising damp. Void property left without ventilation, resulting in damp and mould. Developers signed off on defects that had not been completed, resulting in damp and mould due to being left for too long. Repeated/recurring reports and not followed through	Ensure void properties are checked regularly to allow for airflow and reduce condensation within the property. Ensure developers action repairs identified during defect period. Revised damp & mould process in place
Poor Quality of Works	Causing damage to resident’s property and/or belongings. Operative attending multiple times for same issue and not resolving it or works were left unfinished or just poor overall workmanship. Contractors/operatives left debris or failed to clear up when leaving. Faulty materials/ material not to specification.	Ensure operatives are paying more attention during their visits to residents homes Ensure all operatives are trained to the standards we expect. Monitoring of contractors is a priority so jobs are not delayed in the future. More post-inspections of works
Staff Attitude	Lack of true resident engagement culture from some staff members. Inability of residents to truly influence decision making. The feeling that our volunteers' input is not valued by certain staff members. View that a  proportion of staff may hold negatively stereotyped views of social housing residents. Volunteers feeling undervalued.	Lack of clarity over who emails have been sent to, due to use of bcc to hide personal email addresses – certain Resident volunteers are provided with a Fairhive Volunteer email address so all can see who each email has been sent to. Sending a number of emails requesting responses from volunteers on the same day may cause difficulty in providing a full response to each; staff will ensure requests are staggered and sufficient time for a full response is given. Code of Conduct relating to involved residents is being reviewed and updated to simplify the language used and provide clarity on expected behaviours of involved residents and employees. As part of embedding the changes to the consumer regulations, refresher training to be organised with the resident engagement team on the Fairhive approach, including being respectful, listening and acknowledging feedback and valuing the voluntary contribution tenants make to helping improve services

 

In-year changes to policy and procedure

The Ombudsman's Complaints Handling Code has a requirement for the governing body to have a lead member for complaints called the Member Responsible for Complaints (MRC). This title will now replace our ‘Board Champion’ title, which Kelly Webster fulfils.

A number of changes to the complaints policy, along with revisions to the Compensation policy and the accompanying procedures, were approved at Board in November 2023 to ensure we’re fully aligned to all requirements of this code.

 

If you have any questions about this report or would like to receive it in another format please contact us at hello@fairhive.co.uk.