Decision Report 201601405

Summary

Mr C complained that the housing association failed to respond appropriately to his reports of problems with his boiler and then also failed to make reasonable arrangements to address water damage caused to his laminate flooring from a leak from his heating system. He was also unhappy with the way the association then dealt with his subsequent complaint.

We found that the association properly categorised Mr C's repair requests and attended within the required timeframe. We noted that any damage to Mr C's flooring was something he should raise with his insurer but that, in this case, Mr C was offered a small goodwill payment by the association's contractor, in relation to which we have made a recommendation. We were satisfied that the association acted in accordance with their procedures and we did not uphold these aspects of Mr C's complaint.

However, we did uphold Mr C's complaint about the way the association dealt with his subsequent complaint. This is because they failed to contact Mr C at an early stage to discuss his concerns with him, and also failed to provide him with a reasonable explanation for their decision.

Recommendations

We recommended that the association:

• apologise to Mr C for failing to provide a full and detailed response to his complaint; and
• contact their contractor and ask them to reaffirm their offer of a goodwill payment.