GreenSquareAccord's Delayed Response to Blocked Sewage Pipes
A Case of Neglect, Mismanagement, or a Sign of Things to Come?
As highlighted on GreenSquareAccord residents' website (a platform supporting unheard, ignored, and silenced residents of GreenSquareAccord) there has been an ongoing issue with blocked sewage pipes that has caused much distress to residents in Oxford.
You can read the background here.
To summaries Oxford residents faced significant health and safety risks due to blocked sewage pipes. Despite the urgency of the situation, GreenSquareAccord’s response was slow, leaving residents frustrated and concerned. This post delves into the possible reasons behind the delayed response
Was it Limited Knowledge vs. Restricted Knowledge?
The delayed response raises questions about the expertise and knowledge of GreenSquareAccord's customer service team. Was the initial response an example of limited knowledge, where agents lacked the necessary training to identify the issue, leading to misguided resolutions? Or is there evidence of restricted knowledge, with management withholding vital information to reduce callouts and costs, leading to misinformed customer service?
Well, it’s clear that there was misinformation provided by the customer service team, who advised that it was up to the residents to unblock drains. While this is true for separate homes, it was evident that this was a communal issue affecting over 40 flats. This indicates limited knowledge on behalf of the customer service team. This is likely a training issue or an inability by their CRM system to provide accurate details about the dwelling.
However, once this issue was escalated to the Home Ownership team, it is clear that the knowledge became restricted. The senior management team failed to provide guidance and support to the Home Ownership Team. The Home Ownership Team were aware of the background, the ongoing issue with sewage drainage, and the fact that this was a block of flats with communal drainage. However, for whatever reason, this team was not provided the knowledge about why this issue would not be rectified, the cause of the ongoing delays.
It could be that this knowledge was restricted because GreenSquareAccord couldn't afford to provide this service, or maybe they just couldn't arrange for this service to be carried out due to staff shortages or because GreenSquareAccord didn’t know what to do.
Restricted Knowledge goes both ways. The Home Ownership team and the senior management team might have restricted the flow of knowledge to the senior leadership team. The reason for this, we can assume, is that it might very well put their jobs at risk. By falsely reporting KPI data to the senior leadership team, they can claim to be doing better than they are, while negatively impacting the lives of their residents. By accepting the data provided without integrating it, the senior leadership team can claim to be the magnificent housing provider they so often claim to be, they can continue to seek external accolades and publish glowing self-congratulatory social media posts.
Whatever the reason, this led to the Home Ownership team responding with obtuse emails, failing to update residents when appointments were missed whilst (it seemed) they were hoping the issue would resolve itself.
Why Was There a Need for Multiple Attempts and Involvement of External Support?
Residents had to raise this health and safety concerns multiple times, across various platforms, and even sought support from our local MP to get a response from GreenSquareAccord.
This begs the question, why did it take such extensive efforts and involvement of external parties to get the housing provider to address the pressing issues?
Ignoring residents (although a trait that goes against the published mantra) is and remains an ongoing issue. As stated above, it was the very reason I set up this website. And how did GreenSquareAccord respond when provided with a wealth of issues and opportunities to address their shortcomings? They continued to block, ignore, and attempted to silence. This is a practice that too often works in favour of housing providers. Reporting issues should not be a war of attrition, yet all too often this is the case.
The Home Ownership Team in an email, acknowledged that involving Ruth Cooke and the senior leadership team slows the resolution of the issue (as they then want to investigate). However, without pushing these issues online and seeking external support, we are stuck within the increasing annoyance of restricted and limited knowledge.
in turn this then leads to more complaints being taken up with the Housing Ombudsman, something GreenSquareAccord seems to also treat with utter disdain, but more on this in a later post.
Restricting customers from raising issues is something that GreenSquareAccord clearly favours as a practice that, in the majority, works for them. To this day, GreenSquareAccord still has me on a communication plan that forbids me from emailing any of the senior leadership team, while at the same time claiming I’m not a resident. Think about this for a second. While claiming I’m not a resident, they then tell me who I can and can’t email, and attempt to extend this by telling me that I can’t post issues online, they even went as far as employing their lawyers to misadvise me on what constituted copyright infringements.
In one day, under the stewardship of Rachel Crownshaw (who has since departed and taken a step down with a role with another housing provider), Steve Hayes (who was employed to chase awards and raise the reputation of GreenSquareAccord through the above-mentioned self-congratulatory social media posts), and Ruth Cooke, all blocked me on Linkedin. However, Ruth Cooke (perhaps growing concerned about the posts that were being shared with our 401 mutual connections) has unblocked me. Perhaps there is a chance of us rebuilding trust and paving a new way forward, although her customer service director seems adamant on blocking this, perhaps again to protect her own KPI figures.
It is also extremely noteworthy that all emails and photos (see below) of raw sewage flooding a voter's flat ensured support from our MP, ensuring that the Senior Leadership team was aware and able to apply pressure to the senior management team to ensure residents didn’t have raw sewage flooding their homes. Photos for those of you who wish to see what raw sewage flooding a flat looks like can be found here.
Was it Due to Financial Constraints?
The delays in resolving the health and safety issues raise concerns about GreenSquareAccord's financial situation. Was the repair work repeatedly postponed due to insufficient funds? If so, why did the housing provider not communicate this to the residents and seek alternative solutions?
As housing providers plead poverty, residents may face additional challenges in receiving timely and quality services. This raises important questions about funding allocation, transparency, and the sector's overall ability to meet residents' needs. In the past year GreenSquareAccord have boasted about securing £400m bond to invest in their existing and new homes.
“We are delighted to be able to secure funding that will enable us to continue to deliver for our customers and communities.”
Chief Finance Officer Jo Makinson - 01/12/2022
So delighted were GreenSquareAccord that they also chased an award (and no doubt dined out on residents money) and were able to snag a ‘Highly Commended’ ACT Deals of the Year Award. This of course they bragged about online whilst telling residents how to be more careful with our own money, having spent some of our money on attending award ceremonies.
While GreenSquare merged with Accord to reduce the risk of being bought out by another provider and (as promised to residents) ensure they were financially stable and able to conduct business as expected, this rhetoric has since changed. Ruth Cooke is now having to focus on where the money is being spent (my response to this can be found here) but surely an issue of raw sewage flooding flats must constitute a major Health and Safety risk that requires immediate attention?
This issue was resolved by a third party, and while this might make sense, would it not be more cost-effective to train staff and purchase the kit needed? After all, this is not the only block of flats managed by GreenSquareAccord.
As stated in an email from the Home Ownership team, this buildup is to be expected due to forty-plus residents using their sinks for ten years, as such, is there now a ticking time bomb for all of the blocks of flats that are now over ten years old? Would it not be financially viable for GreenSquareAccord to have the ability to resolve this issue themselves, with their equipment and trained team? Would it not make sense to adopt a proactive approach and fix this issue before it became an issue?
Failing to employ, train, and maintain a team that is fully equipped with the correct tools has now led to increased costs, costs that GreenSquareAccord may not be able to find.
What is the True Cost?
The repeated delays and lack of responsiveness from GreenSquareAccord have further tarnished its reputation among residents. Such negligence and poor customer service may lead to further alienation of residents and erode trust in the housing provider's ability to address their concerns promptly and effectively.
It has resulted in a further post being shared here that will again increase the SEO of this site and further hinder the ability of GreenSquareAccord to raise their online (and actual) reputation. It will certanly lead to at least one compensation claim and may need escalating to the Housing Ombudsman.
So is this failure due to:
A breakdown of internal communications (limited and restricted knowledge)?
An attempt to hide and/or manipulate KPIs?
A lack of equipment and trained staff?
A lack of funds?
Of course we may never know as it certanly doesn’t appear to be in GreenSquareAccords remit to be open and honest by providing the required level of transparency, they haven’t even acknowledged the issue and offered an apology. I’ve reached out to GreenSquareAccord offering them the chance to comment but alas this too fell on deaf ears.
The delayed response to health and safety issues at GreenSquareAccord highlights potential shortcomings in knowledge, communication, and financial management. It is essential for the GreenSquareAccord to address these concerns promptly and take steps to restore trust and confidence among residents. Furthermore, the incident sheds light on broader challenges within the housing sector, prompting discussions about the allocation of resources and the impact on residents' well-being.
However, for now, at least the fear of raw sewage filling flats has been addressed - Thank you, GreenSquareAccord.