PSOW Individual Decisions

Mr A complained about delays in completing repairs to his property and a decision reached to restrict contact with the Housing Association. The assessment found that the decision to restrict Mr A’s contact was made in accordance with the relevant policy and one that the Housing Association was entitled to reach. However, the Housing Association accepted that there had been delays in completing repairs to Mr A’s property. The Ombudsman sought and gained the Housing Association’s agreement to apologise to Mr A for the delays in completing repairs and to offer a payment of £150 in recognition of this. The Housing Association agreed to take this action within 1 month of the Ombudsman’s decision.

Mr A complained that Hedyn failed to issue correspondence via email which is his preferred contact method. The Ombudsman found that Hedyn issued Mr A a complaint response letter by post despite his contact preference being by email which caused him anxiety. Hedyn failed to respond when Mr A raised this as a concern. The Ombudsman accepted that Hedyn failed to act in accordance with Mr A’s contact preferences. The Ombudsman sought and gained Hedyn’s agreement to contact Mr A, within 2 weeks, to apologise for failing to provide him with a complaint response according to his contact preferences and provide confirmation that his contact preference had been recorded as by email.

Ms C complained on behalf of Mr A, that Hedyn had not repaired a leak in the roof of Mr A’s property for two years, causing problems with mould and damp. The Ombudsman found that the Housing Association had closed Ms C’s complaint as ‘resolved’ despite no action being taken. Three inspections noted that repairs to the roof were required, but no repairs were carried out until the Ombudsman contacted the Housing Association. The Ombudsman decided to settle the complaint without an investigation. The Ombudsman sought and gained the Housing Association’s agreement to write to Ms C and Mr A within one month to apologise for the delayed repairs and poor complaint handling, and pay Mr A £600 in recognition of the damage and inconvenience he had experienced. The Housing Association also agreed to remedy the internal mould and damp and review its handling of the case within three months.