Do they really?

They do. As always I won’t just write this without it being factual and supported with evidence.

As you can probably imagine, complaints form a large part of this website, and you can find some examples here, here, and here.

The first challenge is convincing the Customer Service Team that the issue you have is worthy of their time. They will almost go out of their way to dismiss you at this first point of contact. There’s a clear example of this happening here.

But to prove my point and to clearly prove that this is very much an ongoing issue, I shall give you a recent example.

To provide some of the background it started with the Basement Gate Farce, you can read that here.

Please let me complain!

As stated on the previous page, I don’t like complaining. I want GreenSquareAccord to do the job I pay them to do. If they can’t, I want them to stop taking my money and instead put someone in charge who can ‘do the job’. It ain’t personal, it’s transactional. If you can’t, find somebody who can.

If you haven’t read the page dedicated to this issue please do, if you don’t have the time or inclination, trust me when I write this was worthy of being complaint!

Having been reported by at least four residents (confirmed by GreenSquareAccord on a telephone call) we received no follow up or action, so further emails were sent.

On 12 Aug 2022, at 09:16, Merged Mailbox <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK> wrote:

Good Morning Ben,

Thank you for your email.

Please can you let me know if the car park gate is an automatic or manual gate?

With regards to the fire panel, unfortunately the text on the panel is unclear - please can you let me know what fault is showing?

Please let me know and I will look further into this for you.

Kind Regards

Again, there were no previous notes for the agent to review, no concise handover enabling them to respond appropriately.

On 12 Aug 2022, at 09:23, Ben Jenkins wrote:

Hi *********,

I know this isn’t your fault, please don’t think I’m blaming you.

This was raised as an urgent repair yesterday and had been reported 4 times as confirmed by the guy I spoke to yesterday at 17:00.  It’s an existing issue that has been reported, you need to update the open job that should be on your system.  Can you confirm that this has been actioned?

[photos attached showing the fire panel that was still showing a fault and the basement gate]

Having again provided a clear message and having strongly indicated that an update was required, a response was expected. However with this being GreenSquareAccord, where common courtesy and responding to resident emails are certainly not at the ‘heart of everything’ GreenSquareAccord do, I did their job and emailed them myself. This pattern is indicative of just how far away GreenSquareAccord have drifted from their public persona ‘The GSA Way’:

From: *****************

Sent: 15 August 2022 10:30:29

To: "Merged Mailbox" <INFO@greensquareaccord.co.uk>

Subject: Re: Basement Gate and Fire Alarm Panel - OX4 4GW [#61AC4H]

Hello,

Can you please provide an update to n the gate issue?

Thanks

Ben

If you didn’t have concerns about how valid GreenSquareAccord’s KPI reporting was, and still trusted their published results - get a load of this!

On 15 Aug 2022, at 11:31, Merged Mailbox <INFO@greensquareaccord.co.uk> wrote:

Good morning Mr Jenkins

Thank you for your email about the gate.

I can see that we have raised order OCH348025 and I have  just spoken to A&E Security about the order. They confirmed that they attended on the 12/8/22 at 2 pm and the engineer have left it all working.

Can you advised if there is a problem again please.

Kind Regard

No engineer had made any repairs to the gate, it remains faulty. So here is clear evidence that this case has been closed, showing that we can not trust GreenSquareAccords published figures and perhaps the senior management team should not trust the KPIs being provided to them.

I replied:

From:************

Sent: 15 August 2022 12:17:22

To: "Merged Mailbox" <INFO@greensquareaccord.co.uk>

Subject: Re: Basement Gate and Fire Alarm Panel - OX4 4GW [#61DCFI].

This is definitely not the case.  I’m not even sure they attended; they certainly took no action. Might be worth you checking your CCTV to confirm this. Gates have not been fixed.

Thanks

Ben 

A response was very quick this time, further proof that this is not the fault of the customer service agents.

On 15 Aug 2022, at 13:53, Merged Mailbox <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK> wrote:

Good afternoon

Thank you for your email. I understand Robert Bell have left you a voice mail on Friday to say that we are looking at the issue about the gate and at present it is operating manually (manual override) Rest assure we are looking into this with our contactor to see what the best way forward and have this sorted out as soon as possible.  I am sorry for the inconvenience caused.

if you should have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact GreenSquareAccord

Kind Regards

This is half true as I had received a message but the message had stated that the gate had been fixed. Further confusion in the ranks.

From: *********

Sent: 15 August 2022 21:29:30

To: "Merged Mailbox" <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK>

Subject: Re: Basement Gate and Fire Alarm Panel - OX4 4GW [#61E27H]

Hello *******,

Thank you for your reply.

Slightly concerned as at first nobody was able to find the reported fault, then a VM from Robert Bell told a different story to the second email response, then I was told that engineers had fixed the issue, and now we are back to look at best way forward.

Please don’t take this as a personal insult but it is almost impossible to trust what GSA say; usually because of the different versions of accounts, of which this is the latest example of.  I look forward to a timely response,  an outline of action agreed between GSA, your engineers, and us residents.

Thank you for your support in this matter. 

Ben

To which GreenSquareAccord responded with an apology! This is a step in the right direction, if only it was a trait the senior management team could adopt!

On 16 Aug 2022, at 15:31, Merged Mailbox <INFO@greensquareaccord.co.uk> wrote:

Good afternoon Mr Jenkins

Thank you for your email. I am really sorry for the delay. Firstly please let me apologise for mixing the issue of the fire panel and the gate repair yesterday.

Order for the gate repair was raised to Scottys Gate which is our Specialist Contractor on Friday and the order no is 348003. I understand that due to staff sickness and annual leave. They do not have an engineer who knows the issue of this particular type of gate and the earliest that someone will be attending on Monday.

As I understand it the gate can be lifted up manually. I do realise that it is an inconvenience for everyone but unfortunately it is beyond my control as I have tried my best to see if this could be brought forward.

if you should have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact GreenSquareAccord

Kind Regards

So five days after this issue being reported it’s finally being treated as a fault that requires escalation, progress! We can also establish that GreenSquareAccord have had to employ a third party to maintain gates (at extra cost to the residents). This company will need to send someone from Bristol to Oxford (at further costs). However, the one person who can fix gates is either ill or on holiday. Troubling, but progress I suppose…

On 16 Aug 2022, at 15:44, Ben Jenkins wrote:

Thank you *****, I appreciate both your response and your apology.

Can we please have an update on Monday once the engineer returns?

Thanks 

Ben

And a little prompting as GreenSquareAccord aren’t known from responding to resident requests for updates:

Sent: 23 August 2022 12:31:11

To: "Merged Mailbox" <INFO@greensquareaccord.co.uk>

Subject: Re: Basement Gate and Fire Alarm Panel - OX4 4GW [#621B2J]

Hello,

Now the one person within your organisation who has the knowledge and skill set required to fix the gate, has returned from being off sick or on annual leave has returned, and (I’m assuming) has been to the property, are you now able to provide a timeframe for when we can expect this gate to be fixed?

Thanks

Ben Jenkins 

Further proof that progress was being made!

On 23 Aug 2022, at 12:49, Merged Mailbox <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK> wrote:

Good Afternoon Ben,

Thank you for your email regarding the issue with the gate.

I can confirm that I have spoken with Scottys Gates Ltd who have advised that they are in the process of putting together a quote for works to be completed and at this moment in time they cannot confirm an exact date when the work will be completed.

We will, of course, endeavour to ensure that the work is completed as soon as possibe and will be able to provide a further update in due course.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further queries.

Many Thanks,

Of course the word ‘endeavour’ is troubling to anyone familiar to the failings of GreenSquareAccord! As reported to another resident, this case would again be closed, more ‘fudging’ of the KPIs perhaps!

Please tell me that this isn’t the way you run your housing association?

A recap:

• The issue is still not resolved

• It’s been closed at least three times by this point

• GreenSquareAccord do not have a full maintenance team onboarded

• It is now 14 working days since being first reported

Perhaps GreenSquareAccord need some time to regroup. So let’s see if they have the knowledge, manpower, and ability to keep track of this fault and respond correctly without external pressure. While we leave them this time, it’s important to note that our basement is unsecured. Local youths have returned and have again began to loiter, look for things (including cars) to steal and are intimidating residents. Another step backwards for this award winning housing provider!

We still need to chase!

Sent: 12 September 2022 12:17:38

To: "Merged Mailbox" <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK>

Subject: Re: Basement Gate and Fire Alarm Panel - OX4 4GW [#62BBCD]

Hello,

Can I please have an update to this long overdue issue?

Thanks

Ben

On 12 Sep 2022, at 14:18, Merged Mailbox <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK> wrote:

Good Afternoon Ben,

Thank you for your email. I do apologise for the delay in response.

I've escalated this over to the responsive planning team who will be in contact within 7 working days to give you an update from Scottys Gates LTD. I do apologise for the delay in response.

If there's anything else we can help with, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Kind Regards

A well written email with a point of action. However it’s troubling that this is still being pushed by the resident rather than the housing association being pro-active and managing their own maintenance and reporting. It’s a good job the customer is at the heart of everything GreenSquareAccord do as we are currently responsible for ensuring follow-up, and the correct progression of fault reporting.

Sent: 12 September 2022 14:24:05

To: "Merged Mailbox" <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK>

Subject: Re: Basement Gate and Fire Alarm Panel - OX4 4GW [#64C92A]

Thanks ********,

You probably know what I’m going to say (again not blaming you) but 20 days ago Scotty gates were putting a quote together, and yet still our building is left unlocked with gates not working.  This was after the one person who did know how to fix gates was either sick or on holiday, and twice the job has been closed on the GSA system with the team saying it has been fixed.

I think we need to raise this as a complaint. 

Thanks

Ben

And here it is, the first instance of this issue being raised as a complaint. Let us keep count together on this:

Complaint Request No. 1

On 12 Sep 2022, at 14:52, Merged Mailbox <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK> wrote:

 

Good Afternoon Ben,

Thank you for your response.

I have contacted Scottys Gate who have confirmed that they have now completed their quote to us and it has been sent over.

I am now chasing this up with who the quote has been sent to so we can get the requested works raised and carried out for you as soon as possible.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further queries.

Kind Regards

Okay, but what about my complaint request?

-----Original Message-----

Sent: 12 September 2022 15:24:14

To: "Merged Mailbox" <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK>

Subject: Re: Basement Gate and Fire Alarm Panel - OX4 4GW [#64CA7D]

Thank you - Can we please raise this as a complaint?

Thanks

Ben

Complaint Request No. 2

On 12 Sep 2022, at 15:31, Merged Mailbox <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK> wrote:

Good Afternoon Ben,

Thank you for your email.

Please can you confirm what the complaint is in regards too?

Kind Regards,

It’s important to note that this is all from the same email chain and their reference number is in the subject heading. You can download a redacted version of the email chain here. I’m always keen to help, after all this is my home and our vehicles are at risk and youths are now loitering.

 On 12 Sep 2022, at 15:48, Ben Jenkins <email.ben.jenkins@gmail.com> wrote:

Sure. 

The Basement Gate:

1) - Lack of note keeping - when we (myself and other residents) first reported this there where no notes on the system.  This resulted in a failed call back as agreed by yourselves that day to my number (**********).  It also meant that despite four residents calling the team was unable to verify this.

2) - The issue that there is only one person able to fix gates and he/she was either on holiday or unwell for this week, this caused further delays.

3) - The fact that twice this case has been closed as completed.  Once via a telephone call and once via email.  You’ll need to check you records as it may have been closed more than twice.

4) - The response when residents chase is a member of the team will make contact with an update in an agreed timeframe, this never happens.  This email trail is but one example.

5) - Scotty gates have already submitted a quote which has been lost and not actioned by GreenSquareAccord resulting in further delays.

6) - Had I not emailed today or chased this would have sat un-actioned for at least another 7 working days, which as I’m sure you’ll agree is unacceptable.

I hope this helps?

Thanks

Ben

So a clear description of the list of issues that need to be addressed as a formal complaint. At this point I was unaware that GreenSquareAccord had already informed my neighbour that this issue was closed. We shall count this as:

Complaint Request No. 3

Don’t blink but here comes the fourth!

Sent: 13 September 2022 11:08:15

To: "Merged Mailbox" <INFO@greensquareaccord.co.uk>

Subject: Re: Basement Gate and Fire Alarm Panel - OX4 4GW [#64CD9I]

Hello,

Can you please confirm that the email below has been escalated to the compliant team so I can keep a track of the timeframe?

Thanks

Ben 

What follows is probably one of the worst emails I have ever received as a customer (let alone a resident), one of the worst I have seen as a champion of customer service, and one which may have a hidden intent that we can review after you have read this for yourself.

On 13 Sep 2022, at 11:59, Merged Mailbox <INFO@greensquareaccord.co.uk> wrote:

Good Afternoon Ben,

Thank you for getting back in touch with us.

From our records I can see there is a contact management plan in place which you are aware of so we would not have contacted you. Please could you confirm who you were expecting a call from regarding this.

The issue with the operative who is able to carry out the repair either being off sick or annual leave unfortunately is something that cannot be controlled. Sickness can happen at any time and any annual leave is usually pre booked in advanced.

I have looked at your records and there are no closed cases regarding this repair. There is one open case which was sent to the relevant team yesterday on a 7 working day response so this is within the time scale to be investigated.

Please can you confirm when you were told the quote had been lost? I have had confirmation the quote has been sent to us from Scottys Gates and we are now waiting for the quote to be accepted. Due to the amount of quoted works we receive daily it could be we are still awaiting for the quote to be authorised, I can see we asked for an update on the quote yesterday which is still within the time scale for the team to respond.

Kind Regards

Where to start?

• Contact management plan - I know there is lots of confusion over this. GreenSquareAccord keep changing the parameters so I understand how it might become confusing. That said, GreenSquareAccord have put me on a communication plan, not the other way round. It’s also not a plan, it’s a ban. GreenSquareAccord can communicate with me when they are ready to. My understanding is they simply don’t like to because they assume that silence ensures they don’t concede to what I publish. They should be responding to a reported safety issue, and the email trail clearly shows they have been communicating with me. They also confirm the call I’ve had!

• Sick or AL - I know that sickness isn’t something GreenSquareAccord can control, annual leave they can plan for but this isn’t the point. The point is why isn’t there anyone with GreenSquareAccord who can fix a gate, and why does their third party contractor only have one person?

• Closed cases - This person didn't look very hard, the examples are within the email trail! It’s been confirmed twice in the emails and once via GreenSquareAccords MyGreenSquare portal!

• Lost quote - again, it’s in the email trail!

Why send an email like this?

There are three reasons:

1. Failure in the onboarding and training. This agent may be new and is being trained by people who have been promoted from an existing failing team. I’ve written about the toxic culture that exists within the not-so-hallowed walls of GreenSquareAccord HQ, and how this will ensure that this circle of toxicity keeps turning, you can read here, and here.

2. Failure in the culture. This is the level of utter contempt GreenSquareAccord have for residents who raise issues, going against the promoted GSA way!

3. Sent to antagonise. This email could have been sent in the hope that I would respond in such a way that would support the GreenSquareAccord narrative that I bully junior female members of the team!. This would be further evidence of how low this housing provider is prepared to go to maintain their own deluded narrative, and to silence myself and other residents from raising serious issues. Imagine the shame.

Please let me know what you think.

I wasn't going to fall into trap three:

Sent: 13 September 2022 12:52:31

To: "Merged Mailbox" <INFO@greensquareaccord.co.uk>

Subject: Re: Basement Gate and Fire Alarm Panel - OX4 4GW [#64E1ED]

Thank you ******.

Your email actually highlights more issues, none of which are you are to blame for by the way. I will respond in full later today or tomorrow.

 However in the meantime can you please start the complaint process so learnings can be taken and procedures strengthened?

Thanks

Ben 

Complaint Request No,4

On 13 Sep 2022, at 13:09, Merged Mailbox <INFO@greensquareaccord.co.uk> wrote:

Good Afternoon Ben,

This has been logged to the relevant teams for you.

They will be looking into this.

Kind Regards

Of course we can’t trust GreenSquareAccord so I sought clarification:

Sent: 13 September 2022 13:23:38

To: "Merged Mailbox" <INFO@greensquareaccord.co.uk>

Subject: Re: Basement Gate and Fire Alarm Panel - OX4 4GW [#64E54A]

Sorry just to be clear, can you confirm that this is the complaint team?

Thanks

Ben 

And to prove that we can’t trust what GreenSquareAccord claim, publish, share online, and put into emails:

On 13 Sep 2022, at 13:57, Merged Mailbox <INFO@greensquareaccord.co.uk> wrote:

Good Afternoon Ben,

Currently we are unable to log this as a complaint due to the current case which is open is still within timescale to be resolved.

As per our complaints procedure 7 working days need to be allowed for the correct team to resolve the query before we can escalate to a complaint.

As the open case regarding the repair for the gates was only raised on the 12th of September we cannot log as a complaint.

Kind Regards

This might be an indicator of an underlying training issue as this case was first reported on the 11th of August and as such, the team had over a month to resolve.

Sent: 13 September 2022 15:01:14

To: "Merged Mailbox" <INFO@greensquareaccord.co.uk>

Subject: Re: Basement Gate and Fire Alarm Panel - OX4 4GW [#64E74C]

Hello ******,

I’m sorry to disagree, and again it isn’t your fault but a further example of GSA not keeping notes (perhaps to their benefit) but this issue was raised on the 12th August.

Can we please raise this with the complaint team?

Thanks

Ben

Complaint Request No,5

Fortunately we had a different agent respond this time:

On 13 Sep 2022, at 15:32, Merged Mailbox <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK> wrote:

Good Afternoon Ben,

Thank you for your reply.

Unfortunately, I will have to reiterate that this cannot be raised as a complaint at this time. Although I do appreciate that the initial repair was logged on 12/08, the case to resolve this was raised on 12/09 so we will have to allow our 7 working day time frame to pass before this can be escalated.

Following this, if you have not had a response by 21/09 please let us know.

Kind Regards

The issue has been ongoing since the 11th August. I’ve asked for this to be raised as a complaint, but they need a further seven days from 13th September. I’m left wondering just how much time GreenSquareAccord need before they can finally concede that this reporting process has failed and for them to raise a concern internally on their own recognisance.

Sent: 25 September 2022 15:41:05

To: "Merged Mailbox" <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK>

Subject: Re: Basement Gate and Fire Alarm Panel - OX4 4GW [#64EA3B]

Hello,

There hasn’t been a response - can this please be raised as a complaint now or have you already raised it yourselves, as you’ll be aware that the deadline has most definitely been missed now?

Thanks

Ben

Complaint Request No,6

Of course GreenSquareAccord hadn’t raised this themselves, this would upset their KPI reporting.

On 26 Sep 2022, at 09:55, Merged Mailbox <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK> wrote:

Good Afternoon Ben,

Thank you for your reply and letting us know you haven't been contacted.

I have now escalated this to a 48 hour case to the team leader of our planning team in line with our complaints process. Lucy will be contacting you via email within the next 48 working hours to discuss this and let you know what will be happening going forward.

Please let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

Kind Regards

GreenSquareAccord now need another 48 hours. They said they needed seven working days, this would have taken us to the 21st September, yet on the 26th September they need another two working days. I sent the following email to remind them of the historic issues and how this was currently negatively affecting 43 flat owners.

Sent: 27 September 2022 09:26:54

To: "Merged Mailbox" <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK>

Subject: Re: Basement Gate and Fire Alarm Panel - OX4 4GW [#66200E]

As a resident of Maureen Christian House I want to ensure that you are aware that we are now having youths enter the unlocked basement parking area.  This is worrying to residents as it is a threat to us and our property.

As a reminder this is not the first instance in which a failure by GreenSquareAccord has left us, our property, and the building at risk:

www.greensquareaccordresidents.co.uk/cctv

 www.greensquareaccordresidents.co.uk/mch-doors

Residents have asked if you will be covering cost of any damage caused by non-residents entering the building, will you?

Regards

Ben

To which GreenSquareAccord responded:

On 27 Sep 2022, at 09:43, Merged Mailbox <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK> wrote:

Good Morning Ben,

Thank you again for your reply.

I will add this further information to the case open with Lucy as well as your query about covering any damage costs, but at this time I cannot provide any further update until she has actioned the case. As confirmed, the case has 48 working hours to be responded to so you should hear from Lucy on 28/09 latest.

Please let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

Kind Regards

No empathy. No concern. Simply a reinforcement of their timeframes which are strictly enforced when they favour GreenSquareAccord and their reporting, but can be played with loose and ‘fancy-free’ when it concerns the safety of residents and their propertly. It’s okay because on the 28th September, we are going to for sure hear from Lucy, right?

Sent: 28 September 2022 19:14:19

To: "Merged Mailbox" <INFO@GREENSQUAREACCORD.CO.UK>

Subject: Re: Basement Gate and Fire Alarm Panel - OX4 4GW [#6642FA]

Hello,

No contact from Lucy.

 Please advise.

 Thanks

Ben

If you were expecting that the residents of GreenSquareAccord could expect GreenSquareAccord to honour an agreed timeframe that had been put into writing you’ve got some catching up to do.

We can count the above email as:

Complaint Request No,7

On 29 Sep 2022, at 08:38, Merged Mailbox <INFO@greensquareaccord.co.uk> wrote:

Good morning Ben,

Thank you for your email.

I am sorry to hear that you have not received any contact from Lucy, I can confirm that I have escalated your complaint to our Customer Care Team, who will be in contact with you in 48 hours.

If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Kind Regards

You’ve read that right, another 48hrs!

From: Ben Jenkins

Subject: Re: Basement Gate and Fire Alarm Panel - OX4 4GW [#66962J]

Date: 29 September 2022 at 08:47:09 BST

To: Merged Mailbox <INFO@greensquareaccord.co.uk>

Hello,

This was already escalated as a complaint, I’ve already waited well over 48hrs for contact that was due yesterday from the complaint department. Do I now have to wait another 48hrs for contact that might again not come?

Is this really a demonstration of the GSA way?

When there have been repeated requests for this to be escalated as a complaint, is missing an agreed deadline the tone GreenSquareAccord wish to set? It proves again that most of the people within GreenSquareAccord have nothing but utter contempt for their long suffering residents.  Can I please have a call today from the complaint department to help resolve this now long overdue and ongoing issue, along with an explanation as to why the agreed contact didn’t happen yesterday?

Regards

Ben 

No response and certainly no call. True to form, this is the GSA way!