Why Use Your Factor’s Complaints Procedure
When things go off the rails with your property factor you need to let them know that it isn’t acceptable. Because we are all human and we can get things wrong and have off days, initially I’d suggest being really pleasant rather than confrontational, but if you are looking for them to rectify a situation, short of making a formal complaint, I’d also suggest being very clear with timescales. Frankly, if you’ve got to the point of being “cheesed off” (at the very least, then it’s most likely that they’ve not been addressing things for a while. But a final, reasonably pleasant note concluding that, given the background, you’d expect to hear from then in 7 days or 14 days, or whatever you feel is appropriate, is perfectly reasonable.
If you don’t have a satisfactory response within whatever reasonable timescale you’ve requested, then you move into the realm of a formal complaint.
Your factor’s Written Statement of Services and the Property Factors Code of Conduct both require the factor to
“…have a written complaints handling procedure. The procedure should be applied consistently and reasonably.”
So, firstly, you need to familiarise yourself with their complaints process, and follow it, to the letter. Failure to do so will certainly compromise your case if you ultimately need to progress to The First Tier Tribunal, but also it gives poor factoring businesses an “out” to not deal with your complaint seriously.
What Makes a Fair Complaint Procedure?
I’ve seen complaints processes that were clearly written to ensure that no “complainer” ever gets to the end of the process because there are too many hoops to jump through. An unprofessional factoring company might think that this insulates them from referral to the First Tier Tribunal; it doesn’t. An unfair or overly onerous complaints process is in itself a justification for a referral to the tribunal.
The Property Factors Code of Conduct gives guidance on what a factor’s complaints process must look like:
- It must be clear about what the steps of the complaints process are, how you access those steps and the timescales for progression. Best practice is a two step process within the factor (usually this means review and response by a manager, followed by review and response from a director if you aren’t satisfied).
- At some point in the process the homeowner will be required to make their complaint in writing. This is as much for the homeowner’s protection as the factor’s. The factor can’t “accidentally on purpose” misunderstand the complaint!
- You must be told how to escalate your complaint to the First Tier Tribunal, if you aren’t satisfied.
- When the factor’s complaints process has been exhausted, they must write to the homeowner clearly confirming their final decision.
Identifying an “Unreasonable” Process
But what is an unreasonable process (never mind an unreasonable outcome!)?
An unreasonable stage-gate is an internal requirement created by the property factor that a homeowner must complete before their formal complaint can proceed to the next stage, or be formally registered. These types of requirements are typically either not specified in the factor’s written complaints procedure, or are designed to be difficult or impossible to satisfy, effectively preventing the complaint from ever being resolved.
Here are a few examples:
Mandatory Meetings
The factor might insist that the home owner attends an in-person meeting with a specific member of staff before the formal written complaint can be reviewed.
But maybe the homeowner is unavailable, or the staff member consistently postpones or cancels, the clock on the factor’s response deadlines never starts. Additionally, these meetings are probably not recorded, leading to disputes over what was discussed and agreed upon.
Imposing Additional Steps
The factor insists that the homeowner must first consult with (or gain written consent from) a third party, such as the entire Owners’ Association or an external contractor, before the factor will review the complaint.
This delays the process indefinitely and attempts to shift the factor’s responsibility for handling a service failure onto the homeowner or other parties who are not legally responsible for the factor’s conduct.
Insisting on Legal or Technical Language
The factor rejects the complaint because it “does not conform to the required format” or “fails to cite the correct section of the Title Deeds/Property Factors Act.”
The Property Factors Code of Conduct requires the procedure to be clear and understandable for non-experts. Rejecting a clear complaint simply because it doesn’t use professional legal or technical language directly violates the Code.
Keep The Paper Trail
Sadly, in too many cases, your formal complaint is just a precursor to a referral to the First Tier Tribunal. By the time you raise a formal complaint, you’ve most likely asked the factor, probably many times, to do something better, and they haven’t.
If they can’t take the hint despite numerous nudges they maybe it says something about their underlying culture and you should be starting to think about a better factor.
But the natural progression after an unsatisfactory complaint is to refer the issue to the First Tier Tribunal. The tribunal will want to “see the receipts” in that they’ll want copies of emails and documents including how the factor responded to your complaint. Don’t be put off taking issues to the tribunal – they are decent people, very fair in my experience, but they do love paperwork so make sure that you have everything and that you present it in a clear, logical flow.
