City of Westminster Council (202415342)

Background

1. On 29 February 2024, the landlord told the resident that heating and hot water charges would increase from April 2024. On 31 May 2024, the resident complained that the service charge had been adjusted but communication had been poor. The resident remained unhappy with the landlord’s response and contacted the Ombudsman on 17 December 2024 to request investigation.

What the complaint is about

2. The complaint is about the landlord’s:
   1. Handling of concerns about elevated charges for heating and hot water.
   2. Complaint handling.

Our decision (determination)

3. We found that the landlord provided reasonable redress for its handling of concerns about elevated heating and hot water charges.
4. We also found that the landlord provided reasonable redress for its complaint handling.

Summary of reasons

The circumstances of this complaint are well known by the parties involved, so it is not necessary to detail everything that’s happened or comment on all the information we’ve reviewed. We’ve only included the key information that forms the basis of our decision of whether the landlord is responsible for maladministration.

Handling of concerns about elevated charges for heating and hot water.

5. On 29 February 2024, the landlord sent the resident a letter about changes to rent and service charges from 1 April 2024. The letter contained two different figures for heating and hot water charges. One section said the weekly charge would be £57.28. Another section said the weekly charge would remain at £24.51. The landlord did not provide further information about communication between the landlord and the resident after the letter. The landlord told us that a system error caused incorrect charges to be applied. It said the error was identified in the last week of May 2024. This information is inconsistent because the resident complained on 31 May 2024 and said the issue had already been resolved but his ongoing concern was around the distress caused by the issue.
6. In its stage 1 response on 12 June 2024, the landlord accepted that it had applied an incorrect heating and hot water charge. The landlord explained that it corrected the error and removed the incorrect charges from 1 April 2024. The landlord said the charges were correct and said it had confirmed this to the resident in person on 31 May 2024. The landlord apologised and awarded £20 for stress. This response was reasonable because the landlord corrected the error and refunded all surplus charges before 31 May 2024.
7. The resident escalated the complaint on 28 June 2024 because he felt the compensation offered was disrespectful. The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 22 July 2024, apologised again and offered a further £100. It recognised delays, poor communication, anxiety, stress and effects on the resident’s health. This was a reasonable response because it accepted the failings and compensation offered aligned with the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance.

Complaint handling

8. The landlord’s complaints policy says it will acknowledge complaints within five working days. At stage 1 it aims to provide a response within ten working days of acknowledgement. At stage 2 it aims to respond within twenty working days of acknowledgement.
9. The resident raised his complaint on 31 May 2024 but the landlord did not acknowledge it. This did not comply with its complaint policy. The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 12 June 2024, which complied with the complaint policy.
10. The resident escalated his complaint to stage 2 on 28 June 2024. This was acknowledged on 8 July 2024. This did not comply with the complaint policy. The landlord issued its stage 2 response on 22 July 2024, which did comply with the complaint policy.
11. The landlord recognised delays and poor communication and awarded £25 in compensation. The complaint handling failures had a minimal impact and the redress awarded is considered reasonable in response.