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Bromford Housing Association Limited (202012675)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202012675

Bromford Housing Association Limited

15 June 2021


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 landlord’s handling of the repair to the boiler.

Determination (decision)

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

How the complaint was resolved

  1. In January 2021, the resident reported a fault with thier boiler, which resulted in the loss of heating and hot water in the property. They subsequently submitted a formal complaint to the landlord, as they were not happy with the way it handled the repair particularly, the time it had taken to complete the repair.
  2. The landlord issued its stage one response to the resident on 29 January 2021:
    1. It apologised for the distress caused to the resident and acknowledged the impact of the loss of heating and hot water had on the household at the time, as some of the residents had Covid.
    2. It said that the resident reported the fault on 20 January 2021 and made it aware they were isolating until 24 January 2021 therefore, it dropped temporary heaters to the property and arranged for the contractors to attend the property on 25 January 2021.
    3. It confirmed that following the appointment on 25 January 2021, a follow up appointment was required to fit a part to the boiler and the repair was completed on 28 January 2021.
    4. It apologised that the resident was without heating and hot water and explained that when it responded, it adhered to the risk assessments in place to ensure the safety of its staff.
    5. It offered the resident the £20 they had requested as reimbursement for the costs of the running the temporary heaters. 
  3. The resident contacted this Service and said that they were not happy with the outcome of their stage one complaint. We wrote to the landlord on 2 March 2021, to inform it of the resident’s position and it provided the resident its final response on 4 March 2021. It confirmed that it would not escalate the complaint any further in its complaints procedure, as it did not have anything further to add to its response at stage one.
  4. The resident referred their complaint to this Service for formal consideration as they did not consider the complaint was resolved satisfactorily. We discussed the complaint with the resident on 6 May 2021, and they explained that they felt dismissed by the landlord and did not consider the compensation it had offered adequate. They said that to resolve their complaint, they wanted the landlord to be sincere in its apology and increase the compensation it offered to £107, which was equivalent to a week’s rent.
  5. We wrote to the landlord about the complaint and informed it of the outcomes the resident sought to resolve the complaint. It responded on 28 May 2021 and confirmed that it would like to take part in our mediation process. It apologised that the resident felt it had been dismissive and noted it was apologetic for the inconvenience caused as a result of the repair. It also agreed to increase its compensation offer to £107, as requested.
  6. On 7 June 2021, we called the resident to confirm the landlord’s offer and they confirmed this satisfactorily resolved their complaint. Following this, the landlord wrote to the resident on 10 June 2021, with its apology and requested their details for the compensation payment to be made.
  7. 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’.”
  8. 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.