Ombudsman launches special investigation into Wandle to drive learning and improvements from complaints
1 October 2024
Ombudsman announces special investigation report into Wandle following high maladministration rate
The Housing Ombudsman has launched a special investigation into Wandle Housing Association, following its maladministration rate being at 89%, comparatively high for the size of the landlord.
During the process, the Ombudsman will engage with landlord staff and residents to understand the issues facing the organisation and recommend how the organisation can prevent future failings from occurring.
The report will explore whether complaints are indicative of wider failure within the landlord. It will also consider if the landlord is compliant in practice with the Complaint Handling Code.
The aim of the report is to improve policies and processes that then enable landlord staff to deliver better services for residents, which in turn improves their lives. Ensuring that this happens at a more local level will lead to enhanced resident landlord relationships, built on a trusting and solutions-focused foundation.
Find out more about our special investigation reports
Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “We are seeing a high maladministration rate with this landlord, which is of cause for concern.
“Following the investigation we will engage with the landlord and discuss our learning recommendations, and publish these in a report highlighting any issues we have identified in the cases investigated.
“Developing this report in a collaborative way with the landlord ensures the recommendations we make can be taken forwards positively, and we will continue to work with the landlord after the publication of the report to help ensure these are implemented and drive actions.”
Anne Waterhouse, Chief Executive, Wandle, said: “We recognise that our complaint handling hasn’t been what our residents deserve and are committed to putting this right – as we’ve demonstrated in our recent complaint handling report, and residents annual report.
“We already have a project group established to look at some of the causes of our poor performance in complaint handling.
“We want to learn and improve from complaints, and look forward to working with our customers and the Ombudsman to show them what we’ve started to put in place, recent changes and improvements, and listen to their ideas about where we can do more to deliver consistently good outcomes for our customers.”