Perhaps the problem lies in the middle(management)

Introduction

Here’s the big problem, when relationships deteriorate, the first thing to be lost is trust. The level of trust between myself (and many other residents) and GreenSquareAccord has eroded to such a degree that we have to push back and challenge everything. Doubt, scepticism, and suspicion make it impossible to believe anything GreenSquareAccord says, writes, or publishes.

This is detrimental for both residents and the provider.

When trust is lacking, it can be difficult for housing providers to recruit and maintain staff, as employees may feel unsupported and undervalued being forced to lie on behalf of their line managers, or Board.  And as we know without a strong team of staff, housing providers may struggle to provide adequate services to their residents, leading to further erosion of trust.

Additionally, a lack of trust between staff and residents will result in a breakdown of communication and cooperation, hindering efforts to maintain safe and healthy living conditions.

In this post, we will look back at the long and torrid history of how this relationship broke down and how I remain optimistic that we can rebuild the relationship and regain trust.

A tale told through letters

29th July 2021 (according to GreenSquareAccord records, so take it with a pinch of salt), GreenSquareAccord decided to stop communicating with me and to stop me from communicating with them. They had already tried to prevent me from emailing the board before this.

On 4th September 2020, however the following email was sent to their IT team:

Hi,

Could you please put a divert on the following so that all emails sent in come to the Customer Care Inbox regardless of the addressee. This has been requested and authorised by Rachel Crownshaw and needs to be applied as soon as possible, please.

ben.jenkins@gmail.com

Thanks very much,

Claire Cook

Unfortunately, this isn't my email address. However, I believe in being transparent and keeping the issue out in the open so that GreenSquareAccord can seek solutions, keep customers informed, and be held accountable for missed timeframes. As such, I started this website. And how did GreenSquareAccord respond?

Legal Action - How Not to Respond to Customer Feedback

After months of searching through my GreenSquareAccord's archives, I was able to find the letter above which I had thought was lost. I have scanned it for posterity and am sharing it here.

When I first received the letter, I was skeptical of its authenticity, and upon reading it again today, I am still unsure. I have emailed Bevan Brittan for confirmation.  This letter also had the wrong email address, doh.

Regardless of whether the letter was legitimate or not, it is disappointing to see that it falls short of the customer-centric approach that GreenSquareAccord claims to embody. This is a far cry from the strategy being sold in 2021 and the promises made for the latest strategy in 2023, which is simply a rewording of the first with a five-year extension.

When it came to the use of GreenSquareAccord's logo, I was aware of the principle of "fair use" under copyright law. This principle allows for limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. Although I removed images of their properties (they were their photographs) I decided that the use of their copyrighted logo was allowed under fair use. Thankfully, I was not sued, so we can only assume that either the letter was written by individuals who were not well-versed in copyright law or that Bevan Brittan agreed with my interpretation and advised GreenSquareAccord to stop pursuing legal action.

To see a comprehensive list of ongoing GreenSquareAccord disappointments, failures, instances of residents left without heating or hot water, health and safety concerns, and incidents of bullying, among other issues, please visit the latest page.

“Shut up you unpleasant man!”

At 15:50 on April 18th 2023, I was in a meeting when I received a notification on my watch for an email from GreenSquareAccord titled "Contact Management Plan Review." I had been waiting for this email for over a month, and I was hopeful that with Rachel Crownshaw's departure and all the promises and hope of the GSA Way, it would signal an end to such plans and ignoring residents, ushering in a new era.

As I was due in another meeting, I walked from one room to another, stopping for a cup of tea. I opened the email and quickly skimmed through it in disbelief. I turned to my colleague and said, "By jove, I can't believe they actually put this into blooming writing!" I may have used some "French" or "Old English" words, as I rushed into my next meeting.

For the next 45 minutes, I sat in utter bemusement. My first thought was to contact Julianne, who is merely trying to handle an impossible situation, and ask her if she was sure she wanted to put her name to such a letter.  In the end I decided to share it here (as GreenSquareAccord must have known I would) and to share it with some of my network to gain their thoughts.

It has taken me some time to write this post as I wasn't sure where to begin. I won't waste any more time, and I invite you to read it for yourself.

Creepy and disturbing responds

I won't waste time describing it. Here's my response in full:

Involving Mrs J

GreenSquareAccord's next step was to assume that I was acting without the knowledge of my wife. I won't put words into their mouth, so here are their own words:

Mrs J responds

My wife is the most amazing woman I've ever known. This is why I married her. We chose not to fall in love, but to stand together in love, face the world together, support each other, protect one another, and love and laugh together.  My wife is amazing, but don't take just my word for it.

My grandmother (the original Mrs J, if you like) understood me like no one else. That's why I was so close to her. Before we had to move her into a care home, I tried my best to support her at her home. It meant long days holding down a job, lots of travelling, and personal support for the one person in my life who I was always able to depend upon.

One of the last chats we had in her lounge, she told me that she didn't have to worry about me anymore. When I asked why, she told me it was because I "had Niamh now." She made me promise her that I would always take care of Niamh, always love and look after her, and I never broke a promise or lied to my gran. As such, Team Jenko are together in every aspect of our lives, and of course in my efforts to hold GreenSquareAccord responsible for their failures.

Here's is the her reply to GreenSquareAccord.

Dear Julianne

Thank you for your letter dated 24 April, received by me on 28 April.

My husband will remain as my authorised contact in relation to any issues with GreenSquareAccord as GreenSquareAccord’s behaviour and treatment of me, a resident in good standing, have not been acceptable to me for a very long time. However, to avoid any opportunity for you to accuse me of refusing to communicate, I confirm that you have always been free to contact me directly.  I am also open to a face-to-face meeting, even though my previous experiences of these were not productive.   For the avoidance of doubt, my husband will be in attendance at any meeting.  I have availability to meet with you from 1 June onwards.

Since signing the bottom line for my home, I have personally experienced being hung up on, ignored, insulted and laughed at by GreenSquareAccord employees when I tried to approach your customer service team for support in some quite serious situations.  

Even before moving in, I was made homeless for six weeks as one of your staff members went on holiday for two weeks, locking my paperwork in her desk.  I had to wait for her to return as she chose not to tell her colleagues about me.   I was still grateful for my home.  When I contacted you because my bathroom was flooding from upstairs, I was laughed at and told ‘Not our problem’ and was not informed about the building insurance cover provided to other neighbours to help with repairs.  I don’t expect you to have any record of those events.  These are simply the incidents that come to mind, there are many more.

In my time here, I have been GreenSquareAccord’s model tenant.  I have paid every service charge and rental payment on time and without question.  I have no complaints of noise or disturbance against me. I find that I have no issue with GreenSquareAccord as long as I keep my expectations low or non-existent with minimal contact.  I would say that I am similar to the majority of shared ownership residents.  I love my home and plan to stay. 

When working with a housing association, model tenants keep everything running smoothly. Unfortunately, model tenants have allowed GreenSquareAccord to lower their standards, lose their direction and ultimately, take service charge payments without providing the agreed upon service.  This is theft, plain and simple.  You are stealing from me and every Maureen Christian House resident.  I acknowledge that this is partly my fault, and the fault of every other model tenant.  We are busy with work, with family, with getting on with day-to-day life.  We treat other people with the professional respect we expect to receive.  With GreenSquareAccord, we aimed too high.  

In these situations, it takes someone like my husband, someone who can be annoying, cannot be ignored, who can stand up on behalf of others.  My husband is someone who doesn’t sit back quietly paying for invisible services, who is prepared to step up and stand his ground on behalf of those of us without that personality trait.  

Unlike GreenSquareAccord, he has been fully professional throughout.  He has never lied.  He has never exaggerated.  He has never threatened or intimidated anyone despite your unsupported allegations.  He has met with members of your management team when invited.  He sat on your Customer Panel until he was sacked with the accusation of being in breach of a contract he was not told about, never saw and never signed.  He offered his time and industry expertise in the hope of raising GreenSquareAccord’s game to a professional standard, which in turn, could have raised the standard of living for all of us.  He continues to offer support to our neighbours and other GreenSquareAccord residents, all on his own time.  He has managed to do something that GreenSquareAccord can only hope for, he has helped turn Maureen Christian House from a block of flats into a vibrant community looking out for each other. In a wider sense, my husband has volunteered to support the local Oxford community, before, during and after Lockdown, work that has been recognised by the Lord Mayor of Oxford. 

Ben can be passionate at times, especially when he is helping others.  This is one of the many reasons I married him. You have tried to silence him, to ignore him.  As his wife, I can confirm that neither of these tactics work on him.  I am, and will remain, proud of him and his work supporting people who have been silenced by the GreenSquareAccord machine.

You have attempted to label him a troublemaker, simply because he is holding up a mirror to your own behaviour, because he is making public everything you want hidden.  He is giving a voice to your own residents who have been threatened into silence, or just worn down by the brick wall of indifference that exists within GreenSquareAccord office culture.   I agree that my husband’s personality can be seen as difficult, blunt or abrasive, but sometimes in life, polite simply doesn’t cut it.  Polite doesn't get past your first line contact points.  You could try and support his efforts to make GreenSquareAccord a better provider by working with him.

You may be able to tell from this letter that I have a completely different writing style to my husband.   However, I can assure you that due to his Dyslexia, I have proofread and edited most of the emails he has sent you.  He has been open with me about all his dealings with GreenSquareAccord over the years.

I remain the model tenant.  I will continue to pay the monthly service charges and monthly rental in full and on time, in the hope that you, GreenSquareAccord, will someday provide the services you have been paid for.  My expectations are low.

And finally, Julianne, Ben has always spoken highly of you and his experiences of your personal interactions over the years.  However, your letter to me dated 24 April suggested that he has secrets from me, that my marriage is built on lies.  While I appreciate that this is simply the next level of intimidation techniques used by GreenSquareAccord that you are required to put your name to, please can I ask you to step out of my marriage.  

Yours sincerely

Niamh Jenkins

Advice offered by the sector

I shared these letters with people within my network to gain some guidance and see if this was a common practice throughout the sector. I had responses from CEOs stating disbelief (although some had heard of such plans, they had never seen one). Many were unable to understand how GreenSquareAccord could possibly learn from complaints if they ignored them. Others within the sector told me to step down as GreenSquareAccord was clearly going to continue to make things difficult for me, and that I needed to take care of my own mental health. They are correct, however…

I learned a lot during my days at school. Most of it wasn't useful in any way, shape, or form. However, two lessons have stood me in good stead:

1. Standing up to bullies is the only way to stop bullies, and while in hindsight, splitting Gary's lip with my fist wasn't my finest hour, it did stop the bullying.

2. There's always a way to work around rules. When told I'd have to stop selling bootleg video games in the playground, I thought, "No, I'll just have to find a way to sell these games without you knowing," and so my first enterprise was formed at the age of 14.

This leads us into the latest letter from GreenSquareAccord…

If we have to apologise, we will!

Finally, after two years of waiting, the Housing Ombudsman responded and upheld the complaints that resulted in me being put on a communication plan. This meant that GreenSquareAccord had to apologise. And for the first time, I received a communication from Maxine Espley, the new Chief Operating Officer. But the message lacked any substance, and it's a worrying sign that the culture at GSA won't change despite their promises of the GSA Way and their latest corporate strategy. But again don't take my word for it, read it for yourself.

End of an old era, start of a new one?

Well, it looks unlikely, but I remain optimistic. However, recent communications regarding issues with blocked pipes and raw sewage, the intercom system, and a faulty fire alarm causing misery to numerous people in Dursley (updates to follow) indicate that GreenSquareAccord have dug in on the communication plan and pushed back against the Housing Ombudsman. They ignored their recommendation to:

"Provide a written apology to you from a senior member of staff for the failings identified in this report and offer to meet with you if you wish to do so, to provide the parties an opportunity to rebuild the landlord-tenant relationship.”

Housing Ombudsman - 31st March 2023

So, while they can tick off the written apology (as empty as it was), they have made no effort to rebuild the landlord-tenant relationship. They've even tried to remove me as a tenant. Updates to follow. In the meantime, here's an email sent asking GreenSquareAccord to either drop the communication plan or raise it as a complaint.

Dear GreenSquareAccord,

I am writing to raise a formal complaint about the use of your communication plan, which has resulted in me being ignored and silenced. I find this action to be unacceptable, especially as it falls far short of your promises of being 'open and transparent' and 'putting the customer at the heart of everything you do.' 

I believe that your communication plan is being used as a tool to bully me and prevent me from raising important issues concerning the community where I live.

As a resident, I have always valued open and honest communication. However, your communication plan has prevented me from expressing my concerns, asking questions, or providing feedback on the service I have received. This has left me feeling frustrated, undervalued, and unsupported. 

I would like to emphasise that all the reasons behind the communication plan are unfounded, and you have failed to provide any evidence of wrongdoing on my part.

Moreover, I would like to draw your attention to the negative impact this situation is having on my wellbeing.  I would like to emphasise the number of issues that I have brought to your attention, and the positive impact that addressing these issues has (and should continue to have) on our community. By ignoring my concerns, you are failing to live up to your responsibilities as a housing provider.

I urge you to reconsider the use of your communication plan and adopt a resident-driven approach that priorities engagement and involvement. This would help build a positive relationship between residents and GreenSquareAccord, our housing providers, and ultimately lead to better outcomes for everyone involved.

I would appreciate it if you could respond to this email and let me know what steps you will take to address my concerns and restore effective communication between us. Alternatively, please confirm that you have raised this ongoing issue as a complaint so I can seek external support from the Housing Ombudsman if required.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
Ben Jenkins

Email sent to GreenSquareAccord 10th May 2023

Updates to follow.

PS: Thank you for the support. Without the connections I have made during this time, and without the support of my wife, I, like many other residents, may have just given up. I might have sat quietly and let them get away with it.

Is it really too much to ask that they provide the service they charge us for every month in the form of an inflated service charge?