Regenda Limited (202101190)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202101190

Regenda Limited

30 November 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 response to the resident’s reports about her service charge account.

Determination (decision)

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

How the complaint was resolved

  1. The landlord issued a final response to the resident’s complaint on 19 January 2021. It confirmed that it had identified overpayments on the service charge account and had refunded the resident; it had also attempted to provide all requested documentation, though it accepted that some information was not available and that it was not entirely clear about what specific information had been requested. It apologised for its overall failures, clarified the steps it was taking to address outstanding issues (in relation to an electric meter and supplier charges) and offered £900 in compensation to reflect the stress and personal inconvenience experienced by the resident and its failure to meet its own service standards.
  2. The resident brought her complaint to the Ombudsman on 14 April 2021. She said that, whilst the landlord had refunded some of the electrical charges levied for communal areas, this figure had been reduced following an end of year re-calculation. She also said that a further amount had been added as an accrual, though this additional amount had not been reflected in the following year’s charges. She remained dissatisfied with the landlord’s final response as the figures were not accurate and her points of concern had not been addressed.
  3. The Ombudsman accepted the case within its formal remit and requested information from the landlord that would enable a formal investigation to take place. The landlord provided the requested evidence, however, it also continued to scrutinise its response to the substantive service charge issue. On 11 November 2021, following contact from the Ombudsman, the resident confirmed that the landlord had ‘admitted their overcharge’ and refunded all the monies that she considered to be outstanding. She said that she would be satisfied to discontinue the Ombudsman complaint on the basis that the landlord was able to confirm that it would not make similar errors in future.
  4. The Ombudsman confirmed, in a call to the resident of 30 November 2021, that it could not provide confirmation that the landlord would not make further errors in relation to the service charge account, but that it would request that the landlord write to the resident and confirm the learning identified from the complaint, with a view to providing the resident with the reassurance that she was seeking.
  5. The resident confirmed that she was satisfied with this approach and the landlord also confirmed, on 30 November 2021, that it would provide the resident with the requested update on the case. The landlord explained that the complaint had resulted in a service wide review and that it would be happy to share the results of this with the resident.
  6. 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’.”
  7. 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.

Recommendation

  1. The landlord to write to the resident, within three weeks of this letter, detailing the learning it has identified from the complaint, together with any updates on the specific issues that were addressed as part of the complaint following the final response it sent in January 2021.