Complaints Performance

• 3 were withdrawn
• 19 were upheld
• 7 were partially upheld 
• 10 were not upheld 
• 1 went straight to stage 2

In 11 of the above complaints, the customer was not happy with the stage 1 response and asked that their complaint be reviewed at stage 2.  Of those:

• 5 were upheld
• 6 were not upheld

Response timescales:

• Average days to acknowledge a formal complaint – 1 day (target is 2 days)
• Average days to respond to a stage 1 complaint -  13.8 (target is 10 days)

For 2016/17 the group’s performance in responding to stage 1 complaints was 21 days against a target of 10 days. Whilst 2017/18’s performance of 13.8 days represents a considerable improvement on this, we are still missing our target of 10 days. A complaints improvement project is currently in progress that will help staff in meeting our response requirements. Actions include automated alerts for investigating managers to flag when complaint responses are due. 
 

We know we don’t always get things right. However, when we receive a complaint, we look at what has gone wrong and make improvements to try and ensure we don’t repeat the same mistakes. The common areas that our customers told us we were going wrong were:

• Not keeping customers informed and updated well enough about services and ongoing issues.
• Not always responding to complaints within our 10 day target timescale. 
• Repairs issues that should have been identified at an earlier stage 
• Inconsistencies in managing subject access data requests from customers

We are taking the following actions to respond to the above and improve our general performance around complaint handling

• IT improvements will support staff through a process of triggers and alerts to ensure they are meeting with timescales and meeting with customers at an early stage to understand their concerns and try and seek a resolution.
• Updated training for all front line staff involved in handling and investigating complaints to ensure they are fully familiar with processes, timescales and expectations.
• The 2018/19 Repairs Improvement Project will include customer care training for all repairs operatives including an emphasis on proactive communication and keeping customers  updated.
• The repairs project will also focus on process improvements aimed at increasing repairs diagnosis and first time fix.
• In preparation for the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) from 25th May 2018, we have improved our approach to the handling of data requests from customers.
   

• 4 were withdrawn
• 21 were upheld
• 5 were partially upheld
• 9 were not upheld

In 15 of the above complaints, the customer was not happy with the stage 1 response and asked that their complaint be reviewed at stage 2. Of those:

• 3 were upheld
• 2 were partially upheld
• 10 were not upheld

Response timescales:

• Days to acknowledge - Stage 1: 1 day, Stage 2: 0.6 days – target is 2 days
• Days to respond to a stage 1 complaint: 21 days – target is 10 days
• Days to respond to a stage 2 complaint: 49 days – target is 20 days

The group’s performance around complaint response timescales falls below the standards that we have set ourselves and that customers should expect. We have made improvement in this area a priority for this year and measures have been put in place for closer monitoring of timescales and due dates.

The complaints made during the year were about the following service areas:

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We know we don’t always get things right. However, when we receive a complaint, we look at what has gone wrong and make improvements to try and ensure we don’t repeat the same mistakes. The common areas that our customers told us we were going wrong were:

• Not recognising issues reported as formal complaints quickly enough
• Not communicating well enough with our customers
• Generally, customers are unhappy with elements of the repairs service as can be seen by the large proportion of repairs complaints – Communication and not updating customers are cited as particular issues

We have taken the following actions to improve on the above:

• More training for front line advisors to recognise when a complaint should be logged formally and what to do to promptly record and acknowledge with the customer
• Internal staffing campaigns to promote more positive behaviours around service delivery and the use of our information systems – the Lets ROC campaign which stands for Record it, Own it, Close it; and the ABC framework for our trade operatives referring to – Attitude, Behaviour, Communication
• Weekly updates are being sent to senior staff across all front line service areas highlighting timescales for responding to complaints and complaint themes. This information is discussed with front line service managers to identify trends earlier and agree improvement actions.