The vast majority of our customers are positive, polite and respectful and it is only a minority that behave in a way that could be considered unreasonable.
Communication becomes unreasonable when it prevents us from dealing with the issue in question and from providing a service to other customers.
Examples of what we consider to be unreasonable include:
- aggressive or abusive behaviour towards staff
- making unreasonable demands
- unreasonable levels of contact
- a refusal to co-operate
- abusing social media.
We will make every effort to find a constructive and positive way to communicate with a customer before we take any formal steps to reduce contact.
We will make a fair judgement, taking account of the circumstances, context and the individual needs of the customer. This includes recognising our responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.
To ensure we are providing a fair process, a customer can appeal any decision to restrict their contact and can refer the matter to the Housing Ombudsman Service.
No restrictions on contact are indefinite and will be reviewed after a set period.
In line with the requirements of the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code, we have published an Unreasonable Communication Policy which sets out in greater detail what we consider to be unreasonable communication and the steps we will take to manage it.
Underlying all this, we will always respect the fact that everybody has the right to be treated fairly and to be heard.