How we measure up

During the year, we received 3,027 complaints. The year before, we received 3,354.

100% of Stage 1 complaints were handled within the Housing Ombudsman's timescales, a 5% improvement compared to the year before.

99.8% of Stage 2 complaints were handled within the timescales, a 2% improvement.

Damp and mould complaints fell by a third this year and failed appointments were down by more than a quarter.

Your feedback and complaints help us put things right and make our services better. Here are some of the changes we have made this year.

• All our managers now have complaints training. This helps us give you clearer, more consistent answers.
  
  
• We have improved how we deal with damp and mould. Our checks now take account of anything that puts you more at risk at home.
  
  
• We have added an urgent repairs category, so the jobs that cannot wait get done sooner.
  
  
• We worked with customers to map our complaints journey. You showed us where it was hard to get help, and we made changes.
  
  
• We now carry out a joint inspection of your home before a mutual exchange is approved. This means you know what to expect before you move.
  
  
• We have updated how we deal with pests, so you get the same clear service every time.
  
  
• We have improved how we ask for extra time on a complaint, so you get your answer sooner.

We made 26 improvements in total this year. You can read about the rest in our full complaints report.

This year the Ombudsman made decisions on 23 of our cases. This gave 53 findings in total. They found we got something wrong in 45% of them, down from 60% last year.

This year there were no findings of severe maladministration. That is the most serious finding the Ombudsman can make, so this is a big step forward.

When the Ombudsman tells us we got it wrong, we put it right and we use what we learn to improve our service.

You can also check our latest performance report from the Housing Ombudsman.

Our customer experience committee review our complaints performance quarterly and provide assurance to the Board that we are effectively managing complaints.

Here is what our Governing Body said about our performance this year.