Torus62 Limited (202123631)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202123631

Torus62 Limited

26 May 2022


Our approach

Under our early resolution process, the Ombudsman works with the resident and landlord to explore the issues in dispute, identify the matters that remain outstanding and assist in reaching an agreed settlement.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the level of compensation the landlord offered in relation to its response to a leak.

Determination (decision)

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

How the complaint was resolved

  1. Around December 2020, the resident’s property was affected by a leak.
  2. The resident initially requested compensation from the landlord, for the paintwork and carpet that they advised was damaged from the leak. The landlord dealt with this an informal complaint. It acknowledged that it took more than one visit to repair the leak and as gesture of goodwill, it agreed to carry out decoration works to the hallway and living room. It asked the resident to provide a quote for the carpet so that it could review this. The resident provided the quote for the replacement carpet but the claim was rejected by the landlord, who explained that the resident had not submitted evidence of the previous carpet or any damage.
  3. On 25 February 2022, the resident submitted a formal complaint the landlord about;
    1. The time taken for the landlord to respond to the carpet quote they sent.
    2. The landlord’s response to their reports of damage to their belongings following the leak.
    3. The time taken for the landlord to rehang internal doors.
    4. The landlord’s handling of the formal complaint.
  4. The complaint was recorded at stage one. Between 8 March 2022 and 11 March 2022, the parties were in contact about the complaint and the resident confirmed that they had already paid for someone to decorate the living room and hallway downstairs. The landlord asked for receipts of the work that had been arranged but the resident was not able to provide this. The landlord explained that it could not consider compensation without evidence of expenditure.
  5. The landlord issued its stage one response on 17 March 2022. It reiterated its reason for not accepting the claim for the carpet and added that it would not compensate the resident for their belongings as they had not provided evidence to support this claim. It confirmed that it checked its own records and could not find a service failure that would cause damage that would warrant compensation to the amount of £350, that the resident requested.
  6. It said that it found no failure in relation to the time taken to rehang the doors, as the resident had cancelled the appointment originally booked. Regarding the handling of the complaint, it said that as the complaint was initially dealt with informally, so no formal response was sent.
  7. The resident escalated their complaint to stage two and the landlord provided its response on 30 March 2022. It confirmed that it visited the resident on 25 March 2022 and during this visit, it explained that the resident’s home contents and belongings would be covered by their own content’s insurance. In relation to the repair to the doors, it acknowledged that since the stage one response, there was a delay in completing this as a result of supply chain issues.
  8. The landlord confirmed that it had completed the decoration works to the hallway, landing and stairs and the resident was happy with this. The landlord concluded that it was satisfied that it responded to the resident appropriately but acknowledged that the resident had experienced a considerable inconvenience and apologised for this. In recognition of the inconvenience experienced by the resident, it offered £200 and agreed to offer £751 to cover the cost of the replacement carpet.
  9. The resident referred their complaint to this Service as they remained unhappy with the level of compensation the landlord offered. They explained that they were seeking £6000 compensation, which they said was the expenses they incurred from redecorating the living room and the loss of belongings that were damaged following the leak.
  10. We contacted the landlord on 9 May 2022 and asked if it wanted to take part in our mediation process to try and resolve the complaint. On 17 May 2022, it agreed and explained that, in recognition of the shortfalls it identified in its handling of the repair and to resolve the complaint, it would increase its offer of compensation £1300, making the total compensation offered £2251.
  11. We contacted the resident on 24 May 2022, to discuss the landlord’s offer and they confirmed that they were happy to accept it.
  12. Paragraph 55 (c) of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme states that:
    1. “At any time, the Ombudsman may determine the investigation of a complaint immediately if satisfied that the member has made an offer of redress following the Ombudsman’s intervention which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, resolves the complaint satisfactorily. This will result in a finding of ‘resolved with intervention’.”
  13. I am therefore satisfied, following the intervention of this Service, that the landlord has now taken actions to remedy the matters raised which resolve the complaint satisfactorily.

Recommendation

  1. The landlord is to arrange for the payment of £2251 to be made to the resident within three weeks of the date of this report. Once the payment has been made, the landlord is to provide confirmation of this to this Service.