Platform Housing Group Limited (202310458)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202310458

Platform Housing Group Limited

29 April 2024

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 handling of the resident’s:
   1. Concerns about the communal heating charges.
   2. Associated formal complaint.

Background

2. The resident is the assured tenant of a 1-bedroom flat in a communal building owned by the landlord.
3. The resident raised a formal complaint to the landlord on 28 September 2022, stating that he had received a heating bill which he believed to be incorrect. He had not been shown a contract for the services and would not be signing it until it clarified what he was paying for. He had objected to having his storage heaters and boiler removed, was told he had no choice in the matter, and would not use the new system.
4. In its stage 1 response on 19 October 2022, the landlord stated that its investigation had focussed on the letter received about heating charges. It had previously responded in March 2022 to his concerns about the installation of the heating system and leak. It understood that there was confusion about the letter, due to being advised that the heating system would be free to use until March 2022, and he had not used the system since February 2022. It had checked the accuracy of readings and advised that it had since checked the anomaly and readjusted the bill. It acknowledged the confusion and apologised.
5. The date and detail of the resident’s escalation request is not known. However, the landlord acknowledged the resident’s request on 16 January 2023.
6. In its stage 2 response on 13 April 2023, the landlord stated:
   1. If the heating and hot water had not been used, it would only charge for the daily standing charge and any billing would be adjusted accordingly.
   2. While energy prices had increased during the installation phase, it could demonstrate the benefits of the communal heating system over the previous night storage system. It could not provide an alternative heating system.
   3. It had provided free heat and hot water from when the new system was installed until April 2022. It had been charging reduced rates to temporarily protect customers from the new energy prices. Even without the subsidy, going forward, the communal heating system would be cheaper than the previous system.
   4. If the resident was willing to provide electricity bills for the 2 years prior to the new system, it would demonstrate the difference in cost between the 2 systems based on its modelling.
7. The resident remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s response and brought his complaint to this Service, stating that he wanted the return of his boiler and storage heaters.

Assessment and findings

8. In reaching a decision about the resident’s complaint we consider whether the landlord has kept to the law, followed proper procedure and good practice, and acted in a reasonable way. Our duty is to determine complaints by reference to what is, in this Service’s opinion, fair in all the circumstances.

Scope of investigation

9. In accordance with paragraph 42(b) the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, were brought to the Ombudsman’s attention normally more than 6 months after they exhausted the member’s complaints procedure.
10. In the resident’s complaint he referred to objecting to the installation of the communal heating system and a flood which damaged his living room floor. These matters formed part of a previous complaint to the landlord which was responded to in March 2022. In the landlord’s stage 1 response it appropriately advised the resident that it would not respond to matters it had previously addressed. These matters have therefore not been considered as part of this investigation.
11. In accordance with paragraph 42(j) the Ombudsman may not consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, fall properly within the jurisdiction of another Ombudsman, regulator or complaint handling body.
12. This Service is unable to determine complaints about the reasonableness of charges in relation to heating, gas or electricity supplies. This matter would be more appropriately addressed by Ofgem, the independent energy regulator. The resident may wish to consider contacting Ofgem for further advice in relation to his energy bills.
13. This Service can, however, consider how the landlord responded to the resident’s concerns about his heating charges and handling of his complaint.

Concerns about the communal heating charges.

14. The responsibility for maintaining the heating in a resident’s property is the responsibility of the landlord under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The landlord’s obligation is to keep in repair and properly working order the installations in the dwelling for space heating and water heating.
15. The resident stated that his complaint was about a bill from the landlord, placed in his mailbox by hand, from an unnamed company representative. He said that:
    1. The bill informed him that he would have to pay a monthly charge of £37.59 for the use of the heating and hot water of the recently fitted system. The letter claimed that he had run up 2403.1KWh from 16 January 2022 to 31 August 2022.
    2. His meter showed there had been 54KWh passed through it since its installation and when he had permanently turned it off due to a leak on 18 February 2022. He was told that it was free to use until March 2022.
    3. He had never been shown a contract for the services and he would not agree or sign one until it was clarified what exactly he was supposed to be paying for.
    4. His heating system was fitted on 21 January 2022 and his meter was fitted on 4 February 2022. The system started to flood his floors and it was turned off on 18 February 2022. Since then, he had not used the hot water or heating system.
    5. He originally objected to having his storage heaters and boiler removed and was told he had no choice in the matter. All of his attempts to write to the landlord and speak with staff were never replied to.
    6. After installation of the system, he found out that the system was being fed by his electricity supply and decided he was not going to use the new system. He had used other means to obtain hot water since February 2022.
    7. He had contractors visit his flat on 2 separate occasions in June 2022 to check the meter and it was functioning “perfectly”. A contractor told him to keep the thermostat and heating on at 20 degrees or he would be evicted. No other instructions had been given in writing.
16. In a further email on 7 October 2022 the resident repeated the monthly charge and meter reading details. He stated that the system had leaked on 3 occasions and made loud banging noises. Mice were now infesting the building and entering his flat through the holes drilled into the walls that installed the water pipes back in January 2022. He was waiting for a 6-inch hole, cut into his living room floor, to be replaced along with his bath plinth. The high water pressure caused his kitchen water pipes to leak and he had to place bowls under his kitchen sink. He could not currently have his mains water supply on when he was not using it, otherwise it flooded his kitchen cupboard.
17. In the landlord’s stage 1 response it stated that:
    1. The complaint was about a letter informing the resident of a monthly heating charge. His resolution was that he wanted the letter investigated and clarification on what the charge was for.
    2. It understood that he was confused by the letter he had received due to being advised that the heating system would be free to use until March 2022 and he had not used the heating system since February 2022.
    3. It had contacted its head of sustainability and localities operations manager to discuss the issue. It was advised that the tenant liaison officer on site had been liaising with customers and checking readings for accuracy. It had since checked the anomaly and had readjusted the bill accordingly and he would receive a letter about this later that week. The previous letter was to notify him that a bill was coming. It appreciated the confusion the letter had caused and apologised.
18. This Service finds that the landlord provided a clear response to the resident’s concerns about the difference in meter readings and acknowledged that there was an anomaly. It took reasonable steps to check the meter and appropriately adjusted the bill. It also apologised for any confusion caused.
19. In its stage 2 response, the landlord stated:
    1. That it would be beneficial for the resident to meet with senior officers to discuss and reach a resolution to the issues. It had suggested a date and said that the offer remained open should he wish to accept this.
    2. The new heating system included benefits such as thermal performance and cheaper energy bills. Although energy prices had increased, it could demonstrate the benefits of the new system over the previous night storage heaters. It provided a comparison table to demonstrate the potential benefits which indicated a saving of around 33%.
    3. The heating system was a communal system that was required in all flats in the block. Customers were not obliged to use it but would have to pay a standing charge, and it offered to provide bills since August 2022. No alternative systems could be provided. Should he wish to discuss this further with its legal department, it could arrange for this to happen.
    4. It had provided free heat and hot water from when the system was installed up to August 2022, and since then had charged reduced rates to temporarily protect customers from the new energy prices while they adjusted to the new system. Even without the subsidy the new system would be cheaper for residents than the previous night storage system. If he provided bills for the 2 years prior to the installation it could demonstrate the difference in cost between the 2 systems.
20. The landlord responded to additional complaint points relating to outstanding repairs, request for a review of the management team and pest control. These did not form part of the resident’s initial complaint and following correspondence on 21 November 2023 he requested that this Service “please just stick to the communal heating system”. He also confirmed on 27 October 2023 that the landlord had addressed the pest infestation and outstanding repairs. We have therefore not considered the additional complaint points raised during the complaint process.
21. The landlord provided a comprehensive response to the resident’s concerns about the heating charges. It provided calculations and tables to demonstrate the cost comparisons between the new system and previous night storage system. It also offered to meet with the resident to discuss his concerns and to provide further calculations if the resident supplied his previous 2 years bills. It demonstrated that it had provided free heat and hot water until August 2022 and further subsidised costs due to rising energy prices. This demonstrated that the landlord’s approach was reasonable, and it had actively tried to address the resident’s concerns.
22. The resident advised this Service that he had no hot water since February 2022. However, in his correspondence he advised that he had chosen not to use the new system. The landlord also confirmed in its explanation to this Service, that the resident had full use of the new system but had chosen not to use it.
23. This Service therefore finds no maladministration in the landlord’s responses to the resident’s concerns about the communal heating charges.

Associated formal complaint.

24. The landlord operates a 2-stage complaint process. Stage 1 complaints are acknowledged within 5 working days and responded to within 10 working days. Stage 2 complaints are responded to within 20 working days.
25. The resident raised his complaint on 28 September 2022 and the landlord responded on 19 October 2022, 15 working days later and 5 days later than its complaints policy timescale.
26. The resident escalated his complaint on 16 January 2023 and the landlord responded on 13 April 2023, 62 working days later and 42 working days later than its complaints policy timescale.
27. While there were delays in the landlord’s responses, the evidence demonstrated that it had regularly communicated with the resident about the need to extend timescales during its investigation of his complaint. The resident had confirmed that he did not mind waiting and agreed to extension requests. This Service therefore finds no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.
28. The landlord responded to additional complaint points in its stage 2 response which did not form part of the resident’s initial complaint. These related to pest control, a request to review its management team and outstanding repairs. Its response was appropriate at the time of the complaint.
29. In accordance with section 6.8 of the new statutory complaint handling code (the code), introduced 1 April 2024, where a stage 1 response has been issued, the new issues are unrelated to the issues being investigated or it would unreasonably delay the response, the new issues must be logged as a new complaint. A recommendation is made for the landlord to self-assess against the new code to ensure its future responses are compliant.

Determination

30. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman’s Scheme, there was no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s:
    1. Concerns about the communal heating charges.
    2. Associated formal complaint.

Orders and recommendations

Recommendations

31. The landlord should self-assess against the new complaint handling code to ensure that it is compliant for future complaints from 1 April 2024. This should include reviewing section 6.8 of the new code in relation to responding to new matters introduced during complaint investigations.
32. The landlord should contact the resident to address his concerns about being unable to have his mains water on due to a leak under the sink and complete any required repairs.