Leeds City Council (202213963)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202213963

Leeds City Council

1 February 2023


Our approach

The Housing Ombudsman’s approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the case. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman considers the evidence and looks to see if there has been any ‘maladministration’, for example whether the landlord has failed to keep to the law, followed proper procedure, followed good practice or behaved in a reasonable and competent manner.

Both the resident and the landlord have submitted information to the Ombudsman and this has been carefully considered. Their accounts of what has happened are summarised below. This report is not an exhaustive description of all the events that have occurred in relation to this case, but an outline of the key issues as a background to the investigation’s findings.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s reports that staff are unavailable when he contacts them by phone.

Background

  1. The resident is a secure tenant of the landlord.
  2. On 8 July 2022, the resident complained to the landlord that when phoning the landlord’s office on a Friday he was unable to speak to a member of staff. He said that the Housing Manager and Housing Officer did not work five days a week and that his calls were going to voicemail.
  3. The landlord responded on 11 July 2022. It apologised that the resident was experiencing difficulties in contacting it, stating that it was experiencing a high volume of enquiries and could not always answer every call immediately.  It stated that although some of its managers did work part-time, its office was always manned during working hours. It provided the working patterns and contact details for its housing staff and asked the resident to leave a message if he didn’t get through, so that it could return his call within a reasonable timeframe.
  4. Following this the resident contacted the landlord to advise that there had been several further occasions when either staff were not available to speak to him or his call went to voicemail. The landlord responded on 23 August 2022. It apologised that the resident was having issues getting through to speak to its staff, but reiterated that although it endeavoured to answer all calls, this was not always possible. It said the resident needed to leave a message when he called so that it could return his call promptly.
  5. In his complaint to this Service, the resident stated that he is dissatisfied that he cannot always contact specific staff members on a Friday. As an outcome he wants the landlord’s office to be fully manned and for staff to be working every day.

Assessment

  1. The resident has complained about the landlord’s availability of staff. In line with general good customer service, the landlord would be expected to communicate its opening hours to residents and to adhere to those opening hours. It should also explain to the resident how he can get in contact and who his point of contact is. 
  2. The landlord responded appropriately to the resident’s complaint as it has detailed its opening hours and contact methods, explaining that its offices and contact centre are staffed Monday to Friday during normal office hours. The landlord also provided the working patterns of its housing staff, confirming that three members of staff are available at various times during the working week, two of whom are available on Fridays. In addition, it has confirmed that the resident can attend the community hub in person or report repairs and antisocial behaviour using an online facility.
  3. The landlord has apologised that the resident has found it difficult to get through to specific members of staff, but has explained that staff members cannot always be available to answer queries immediately. It requested that the resident leave a message so that it can return his call, as the resident does not always leave voicemails. It has also explained to this Service that due to the reactive nature of the work and volume of visits and contacts, housing staff cannot always be available when a tenant phones. It says it aims to respond to enquiries within three working days.
  4. This Service is satisfied that the landlord has taken reasonable steps to ensure the resident is able to contact its staff. While there may be occasions when staff are unavailable and this is frustrating for the resident, this does not amount to a service failure because the landlord has systems in place to ensure that the resident is called back should he leave a message. The evidence provided for this investigation does not show that there has been a repeated failure by the landlord to return the resident’s calls.

Determination (decision)

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration by the landlord in respect of its response to the resident’s reports that staff are unavailable when he contacts them by phone.