Onward Homes Limited (202119348)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202119348

Onward Homes Limited

18 May 2022


Our approach

The Housing Ombudsman’s approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the case. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman considers the evidence and looks to see if there has been any ‘maladministration’, for example whether the landlord has failed to keep to the law, followed proper procedure, followed good practice or behaved in a reasonable and competent manner.

Both the resident and the landlord have submitted information to the Ombudsman and this has been carefully considered. Their accounts of what has happened are summarised below. This report is not an exhaustive description of all the events that have occurred in relation to this case, but an outline of the key issues as a background to the investigation’s findings.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s concerns about the level of compensation offered for a missed appointment.

Background

  1. The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord, which is a housing association. The property is a house.
  2. According to the landlord’s records, there was a missed repair appointment (it is unclear what the appointment was for) on 15 October 2021. The resident was not informed of a cancellation or nonattendance by the contractors. The landlord later scheduled a new appointment for 26 October 2021 but this was cancelled by the resident. The resident was offered £10 as a gesture of goodwill for the missed appointment.
  3. In early November 2021 the resident complained to the landlord that he had been waiting for several hours but the contractor failed to attend or notify him of the missed appointment. He said he believed the landlord’s £10 offer was too low.
  4. In response to the resident’s concern, the landlord emailed and advised him that its offer of £10 was in line with its internal guidance for goodwill gestures for up to five missed appointments. The landlord issued its stage one complaint response on 8 November 2021, it apologised that the appointment in October went unattended and that the resident was not made aware in advance. The landlord said that it was not the level of service it expected and noted that it was working with its contractors to improve the service provided including missed appointments and communication. The landlord upheld the resident’s complaint and repeated its offer of £10 compensation.
  5. The resident questioned where the amount of £10 was specified in the landlord’s guidance and asked that his complaint be escalated if the landlord was not prepared to make a better offer. The landlord issued its final complaint response on 19 November 2021 and again apologised for the level of service provided and the inconvenience caused. The landlord explained that it had assessed its original offer and believed it was reflective of the inconvenience, and that it was in accordance with its policy. It advised that it was not proposing to increase its offer and provided details for this Service if the resident was dissatisfied with its response.
  6. The resident passed his complaint to this Service as he remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and its offer of compensation.

Assessment and findings

  1. The landlord’s compensation guidance sets out that it will offer £20 compensation if two missed appointments occur, and no compensation for only one missed appointment. Across the social housing sector, £10 compensation for a missed appointment is generally the standard, with some landlords offering slightly more.
  2. The resident raised concern over the level of compensation the landlord offered following a missed appointment on 15 October 2021. He described the landlord’s offer of £10 as unacceptable and asked that it provide him a more suitable offer.
  3. The landlord advised that its offer was in accordance with its internal guidance and reflected the level of inconvenience. The resident’s frustration and annoyance is wholly understandable, and it may have been helpful for the landlord to explain the reasons for the missed appointment to resolve the complaint more fully. Nevertheless, it was reasonable for the landlord to apologise for its recognised service failure, and to offer redress. The landlord went beyond its policy by offering compensation when there had been only one missed visit. It’s action in doing so was reasonable and in line with basic good practice, when there has been a one-off missed appointment.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 55 (b) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, the landlord has made an offer of redress prior to the investigation which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily.

Recommendation

  1. The landlord’s current policy sets out that it will not compensate for a single missed appointment (albeit that it did do so in this case). That is not in line with the approach of many landlords across the sector, and does not appear to be wholly fair, given that even a single missed appointment is frustrating and inconvenient. The landlord may wish to reconsider this particular aspect of its policies and procedures.