Complaints targets
Dear Lewisham Homes,
Recently, your customer service team has begun refusing to register my complaints.
To clarify - it's not that they are investigating them and refuting them; they are refusing to even log them in the first place.
This is in spite of the fact that my complaint is absolutely legitimate. the UK Housing Ombudsman Service has confirmed that the reasons given by Lewisham Homes are *not* sufficient grounds for rejection of a complaint.
I find this behavior astonishing and outrageous.
Data requested:
According to your records, is there anything that could disincentivise the logging of complaints?
For examples of potential such disincentivisations (but not limited to these):
Is anyone in your organisation targeted (in anyway; financial or otherwise) on the number of complaints logged?
Is your organisation *as a whole* targeted (in anyway; financial or otherwise) on the number of complaints logged?
If any such targets do exist, I think it's possible that it's created a conflict of interest - whereby your customer service staff are penalised if they accept the complaints and investigate issues on behalf of residents.
I intend to raise this issue with your board members. I'm requesting this data for that reason.
Yours faithfully,
Mr. Williams
Thank you for contacting the Customer Relations Team at Lewisham Homes. We
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Kind Regards,
Customer Relations Team
DISCLAIMER
Lewisham Homes is the trading name of Lewisham Homes Limited, which
is a company registered in England and Wales. Our registered office is
Old Town Hall, Catford Road, London, SE6 4RU.
Registered in England and Wales Company Number: 5887410
This email and its attachments may be confidential and are intended
solely for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. Any views
or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not
necessarily represent those of the Lewisham Homes.
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you must take no action based upon them, nor must you copy or show them
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accepted by any member of the Lewisham Homes for any loss or damage from
receipt or use thereof.
To add clarification:
... Even if it were just a *policy* (formal or otherwise) of trying to minimise the number of complaints logged (without it necessarily being 'targeted' per se) then that's absolutely the type of thing I'm interested it.
I expect there must be *something*, since I can think of no other rational explanation for such outrageous behavior.
Your organisation has recently begun claiming it's not been receiving my standard email communications.
You're refusing to log my attempts at formal complaints.
It's starting to look like you are only going to answer questions at all is when I've made a formal FOI on this public forum.
Clearly, this is not an appropriate way to handle communication with your leaseholders.
Disgraceful.
NB - The FOI Act allows me to request how and where I receive the response. I request that you post it digitally, here in the relevant case, on the website https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/5...
Lewisham Homes - Freedom of Information request
Our Reference: 1321634
Due date: 11 October 2018
________________________________________
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Dear Mr Williams
Thank you for your email.
Your request is being considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working-days, subject to the application of
any exemptions. Where consideration is being given to exemptions the 20
working-day timescale may be extended to a period considered reasonable
depending on the nature and circumstances of your request. In such cases
you will be notified and, where possible, a revised time-scale will be
indicated. In all cases we shall attempt to deal with your request at the
earliest opportunity.
There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information requested where the request exceeds the statutory limit or
where disbursements exceed £10. In such cases you will be informed in
writing and your request will be suspended until we receive payment from
you or your request is modified and/or reduced.
Your request may require either full or partial transfer to another public
authority. You will be informed if your request is transferred.
If we are unable to provide you with the information requested we will
notify you of this together with the reason(s) why and details of how you
may appeal (if appropriate).
Regards
Dear Mr Williams
Your FOI request and further email have been received and your request is
being processed under ref. 1321634
Regards
Customer Relations Team
[1]email-sig
Save time, do it online
[2]lewishamhomes.org.uk
T: 0800 028 2 028
Email: [3][email address]
Dear Mr Williams
Please find attached response to your FOI request.
Kind Regards
Customer Relations Team
[1]email-sig
T: 0800 028 2028
Old Town Hall, Catford Road, London SE6 4RU
[2]www.lewishamhomes.org.uk
[3]cid:image002.jpg@01D00D83.1D5FF850 [4]cid:image003.jpg@01D00D83.1D5FF850 [5]cid:image004.jpg@01D00D83.1D5FF850 [6]cid:image005.jpg@01D00D83.1D5FF850 [7]cid:image006.jpg@01D00D83.1D5FF850 [8]cid:image007.jpg@01D00D83.1D5FF850 [9]cid:image008.jpg@01D00D83.1D5FF850
[10]cid:image009.jpg@01D00D83.1D5FF850
From: Customer Relations Team
Sent: 13 September 2018 13:07
To: 'Mr. Williams' <[FOI #519480 email]>; Customer
Relations Team <[email address]>
Subject: FOI- Complaints targets - 1321634
Dear Mr Williams
Your FOI request and further email have been received and your request is
being processed under ref. 1321634
Regards
Customer Relations Team
[11]email-sig
Save time, do it online
[12]lewishamhomes.org.uk
T: 0800 028 2 028
Email: [13][email address]
Dear Customer Relations Team,
Please conduct an Internal Review of FOI response 1321634.
Given that the ultimate response was effectively 'no there aren't any targets', it's extremely hard to imagine why this response was left until the absolute limit of the 20 working day 'long stop'.
The FOI Act mandates that you respond promptly AND within 20 working days. These are two separate requirements.
Here is the ICO guidance:
https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...
Copy and pasting from there:
Requirement to respond promptly
21. The obligation to respond promptly means that an authority should comply with a request as soon as is reasonably practicable.
22. Whilst this is linked to the obligation to respond within 20 working days, it should be treated as a separate requirement.
23. An authority will therefore need to both respond promptly and within 20 working days in order to comply with section 10(1).
24. Authorities should regard the 20 working day limit as a ‘long stop’, in other words the latest possible date on which they may issue a response.
25. It also follows that an authority which provides its response close to, or on, the final day of the 20 working day limit ought to be able to both account for, and justify, the length of time taken to comply with the request.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Williams
Dear Mr Williams
Thank you for your email. Your request has been referred to our Audit Team
for internal review.
You can expect a response to the request on or before 14 November 2018.
If we need to extend the timescale you will be notified and, where
possible, a revised time-scale will be indicated. In all cases we will
attempt to deal with your request at the earliest opportunity.
Regards
Customer Relations Team
[1]email-sig
Save time, do it online
[2]lewishamhomes.org.uk
T: 0800 028 2 028
Email: [3][email address]
Dear Mr. Williams
Please find attached the response to your Internal Review request in
respect of your FOI Request 1321634.
Regards
Colin Burns
Audit Risk and Compliance Manager
T: 020 3889 0640 - 2146
Old Town Hall, Catford Road, London SE6 4RU
[1]www.lewishamhomes.org.uk
DISCLAIMER
Lewisham Homes is the trading name of Lewisham Homes Limited, which
is a company registered in England and Wales. Our registered office is
Old Town Hall, Catford Road, London, SE6 4RU.
Registered in England and Wales Company Number: 5887410
This email and its attachments may be confidential and are intended
solely for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. Any views
or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not
necessarily represent those of the Lewisham Homes.
If you are not the intended recipient of this email and its attachments,
you must take no action based upon them, nor must you copy or show them
to anyone. Please contact the sender if you believe you have received
this email in error.
Although this email and any attachment are believed to be free of any
virus or other defect which might affect any computer or system into
which they are received and opened, it is the responsibility of the
recipient to ensure that they are virus free and no responsibility is
accepted by any member of the Lewisham Homes for any loss or damage from
receipt or use thereof.
References
Visible links
1. file:///tmp/www.lewishamhomes.org.uk
Lewisham Homes,
Your response today states:
'The Internal Review has found that the response was sent within 20 days of your request, as specified in the Freedom of Information Act. '
While this is not *technically* a false statement, it's a misrepresentation of what the FOI Act states - and what I made abundantly clear when asking you to review the case.
I wasn't suggesting that this particular response has taken longer than 20 days. It makes no sense whatsoever that you've responded to *this* factor as being the point for review.
Copy and pasting from my Internal Review request:
The FOI Act mandates that you respond promptly AND within 20 working days. These are two separate requirements.
Here is the ICO guidance:
https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...
Copy and pasting from there:
Requirement to respond promptly
21. The obligation to respond promptly means that an authority should comply with a request as soon as is reasonably practicable.
22. Whilst this is linked to the obligation to respond within 20 working days, it should be treated as a separate requirement.
23. An authority will therefore need to both respond promptly and within 20 working days in order to comply with section 10(1).
24. Authorities should regard the 20 working day limit as a ‘long stop’, in other words the latest possible date on which they may issue a response.
25. It also follows that an authority which provides its response close to, or on, the final day of the 20 working day limit ought to be able to both account for, and justify, the length of time taken to comply with the request.
20 working days is the "LONG STOP" absolute maximum.
You *should be* responding to FOI requests as soon as possible.
THE ICO guidance is clear that, when responding at or near the long stop, you need to account for and justify why. I've asked you to comply with this ICO guidance and you've willfully chosen not to do that.
As if to rub salt into the wound, you've then waited 20 working days before firing off this sham of an Internal Review response.
I'm not asking for this I.R. just to create hassle for you; I'm genuinely hacked off that you are flagrantly violating my legal rights and abusing your power as our landlord.
For you to respond in this ridiculous way adds insult to injury. It actually feels like you are *deliberately* trying to antagonise us and insult us, with such a pathetic non-effort of an Internal Review which comprehensively ignores the issues I raised when requesting it.
It's not feasible that - at your level (Audit Risk and Compliance Manager) - you *genuinely* do not have the mental capacity to understand what was asked of you. It therefore seems like you are wantonly, flagrantly breaking the law - and are now just disingenuously, dishonestly pretending not to understand the issue.
Presumably you've made a conscious judgement call that you don't respect the law or the ICO and are not concerned by the limited penalties that you can potentially face as a consequence of these continual breaches.
It may be the case that you won't be punished severely, still though, your behaviour is disgraceful and you should be ashamed of your actions.
I'm now planning to take these matters up with both the ICO and my M.P.
Will it please be possible for you to conduct an real Internal Review PERTAINING TO THE PROBLEMATIC ISSUES/LEGAL BREACHES THAT WERE ACTUALLY RAISED at the time of requesting the review?
Please acknowledge receipt of this letter as soon as possible.
Please let me know if you will do an ACTUAL Internal Review.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Williams
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