Customer Feedback and Complaint Investigations
We are always keen to hear your feedback as this helps us to learn and understand areas where we are delivering services well and areas where we can improve.
We recently consulted with some of our Jigsaw Rewards members on our approach to formal complaint handling.
Key findings included:
- 91% agree our initial informal handling of complaints to try to put things right quickly is still the best approach.
- 67% said it was easy to find complaints information on our websites with a further 19% saying it is very easy.
- 78% feel that 10 working days is a reasonable response time to investigate and respond to formal complaints.
- 82% feel our complaint exclusions are reasonable.
Dissatisfaction and informal complaints
We continue to see positive satisfaction scores in most areas – but we can always improve.
Our customer contact system and the way informal complaints and dissatisfaction are recorded allows us to get more from the data we record when you call our Connect Contact Centre.
If you receive a customer feedback survey about our services, please take the time to leave a comment with your score – it really does make a difference.
Formal Complaint Investigations
In most cases, the quickest and most effective way to resolve complaints or dissatisfaction is for us to try to put things right quickly working with our managers.
However, if you remain unhappy with how your complaint has been handled, you can ask for your complaint to be escalated to the formal process. More information can be found here https://www.jigsawhomes.org.uk/complaints/
We investigated 32 complaints from July – September (Q2) through our formal complaints process.
In 6 cases, the customer remained unhappy with the investigation and response and escalated their complaint to the final stage of the internal process – Review.
In two cases, the reviewing manager upheld the escalated complaint identifying further actions to fully resolve the complaints.
Complaints (investigations) in Q2 (Jul – Sep 2021)
Jigsaw Homes North – 17
Complaints investigations by department
Allocations/lettings – 2
Repairs – planned/investment – 7
Repairs – routine responsive – 13
Neighbourhood Safety – 6
Tenancy Matters – 2
Development/New Builds – 1
Service Charge/Leasehold – 1
Complaint outcomes Q2 (Jul – Sep 2021)
Complaint upheld (service failure) – 4
Complaint upheld in part (partial service failure) – 8
Complaint not upheld (no service failure) – 20
Housing Ombudsman Service
We received one determination from The Housing Ombudsman during this period following a complaint relating to misdiagnosis of flooring repair. We were ordered to pay £100 compensation for inconvenience caused by failings.
Legal Disrepair Claims
A disrepair claim is another form of ‘complaint’ which is handled through a legal process. Many of the claims we receive are as a result of ‘Claim Farmers’ who mislead people into taking out flimsy legal suits.
The majority of these claim farmers ‘sell’ on the claims to lawyers, whose interest is making money on the back of a claim, with any costs paid out going directly to the law firm. In a small number of cases damages are paid to the tenant, but after sizable fees are removed from the law firm.
At Jigsaw Homes Group we are committed to providing an excellent service to our customers. However, we realise that things can occasionally go wrong. If this happens to you or if you feel our service doesn’t meet your expectations, then we want you to let us know and we will always try to resolve your problem as quickly as possible.
We have a robust complaints process and compensation policy which is flexible enough to respond to individual cases as they arise without the need for escalating legal fees.
| The following cases are real with the outcome at court both defended successfully.
Case 1: The tenant claimed several defects including damp throughout the property and issued Court proceedings in June 2020. The pleadings made were considered very poor and we had already undertaken the works at the property. The tenant’s solicitor served a further witness statement which was much fuller than the previous one they had submitted. They are not allowed to do this and this was challenged. The tenant’s solicitor then dropped the claim on the morning of the trial hearing and we did not need to pay any damages to our tenant or their legal costs. Case 2: A trial was brought initially for 20 reported disrepair defects at a property, including damp throughout the property, mould growth and leaks. The expert surveyor’s inspection reports that had been produced for both the Association and the tenant did not support the disrepair that was being claimed. The Judge ruled that a defective window was a disrepair item and that the repair had not been completed within a reasonable period of time – but that the tenant had not suffered loss or damage for that period and dismissed this part of the claim. We received a further claim for a defect to the roof and gutter. Both our expert surveyor and the tenant’s expert inspected the property and produced reports. The tenant claimed we did not do these repairs in a reasonable period of time. We had previously contacted the tenant to carry out the repairs but the tenant refused on the advice of their solicitor who said that if access was permitted, the claim would not be valid. The Judge said access was refused on an ongoing basis and delays due to Covid 19 lockdown and restrictions were not relevant, because of the tenant’s ongoing refusal of access. This part of the claim was also dismissed and the Association won the trial. The Judge ordered the tenant to pay £300 contribution to our expert’s fees within 21 days. |
If you have any concerns about your property, or any unresolved repair issues, please contact us so we can to look to put things right for you and agree a resolution.
