PSOW Individual Decisions

Ms A complained that Caredig (“the Housing Association”) failed to address disrepair in her property. The Ombudsman recognised that despite the Housing Association advising some works had been carried out, that Ms A continued to report disrepair and remained dissatisfied. The Ombudsman sought and gained the Housing Association’s agreement to: within 2 weeks – appoint an independent surveyor, within 4 weeks – to undertake an independent building survey with a view to considering previously identified concerns, and those raised by Ms A in her recent email, and within 6 weeks – to provide Ms A with the findings and agree to carry out all reasonable works proposed.

Ms A complained about Caredig’s persistent failure to address repairs to her property, including damp and mould, as well as its failure to follow its complaints procedure. The Ombudsman decided that Caredig (“the Housing Association”) had not adequately recorded and acknowledged the complaints Ms A raised, which led to a delay in her complaint being investigated and responded to. She decided to settle the complaint without an investigation. The Ombudsman sought and gained the Housing Association’s agreement that within 2 weeks it would write to Ms A with the outcome of its investigation, provide a written apology to her in recognition of the delay, and make a redress payment to her in the sum of £100 for the time and trouble spent in getting a response to her complaint.

Mrs A complained about delays in repairs being carried out in her home by Caredig (“the Association”). The Ombudsman was concerned that repairs remained outstanding and that Mrs A had not received a formal written response to her concerns. The Association confirmed to the Ombudsman that it would complete the necessary works, and respond to Mrs A’s concerns in writing. The Ombudsman found this to be a reasonable proposal. The Ombudsman sought and gained the Association’s agreement, within 8 weeks, to provide a written apology to Mrs A for not previously responding to her complaint, to confirm the steps it will take to complete the necessary works, and to establish the scope of her concerns, the outcomes she is seeking, and to provide a response in line with its formal complaints procedure.

Miss X complained that Caredig failed to repair the leak from her upstairs neighbour’s balcony and that she had not received a complaint response. The Ombudsman found that the Association had attended the property to carry out remedial repairs to the balcony; however, it had failed to progress Miss X’s concerns through its formal complaints procedure. She said this caused uncertainty and frustration for Miss X. The Ombudsman decided to settle the complaint without an investigation. The Ombudsman sought and gained the Association’s agreement to, within 3 weeks, offer Miss X an apology for not progressing her concerns through its formal complaints procedure at an earlier stage, issue a formal complaint response, and offer Miss X £100 redress payment in recognition of the delay and for the time and trouble in making a complaint to the Ombudsman.

Ms X complained that she had been decanted from her home and that Caredig had failed to respond to her complaint. The Ombudsman found that Caredig had issued a complaint response; however, Ms X did not receive a copy, and it had failed to address her additional concerns. She said this caused uncertainty and frustration to Ms X. She decided to settle the complaint without an investigation. The Ombudsman sought and gained Caredig’s agreement to issue its complaint response by email and post within 1 week, and to provide a further response addressing Ms X’s additional concerns within 3 weeks.

Mr and Mrs A complained because they were unhappy that Caredig failed to address outstanding works in their property. They were also unhappy that the conversation about compensation for the issues experienced had not progressed. The Ombudsman decided that despite Caredig attending the property for 38 jobs since June 2024, there remained works outstanding. It also appeared that in January 2025 Caredig commenced discussion with Mr and Mrs A for compensation, but no further discussion took place when compensation could not be agreed. The Ombudsman decided to settle the complaint without an investigation. The Ombudsman sought and gained Caredig’s agreement to, within 2 weeks, contact Mr and Mrs A to resume discussion around appropriate financial redress for the issues they have experienced and the time and trouble taken in approaching the Ombudsman, to discuss any outstanding repairs, and provide Mr and Mrs A with an update regarding next steps to be taken.