Any Liverpool folk around?

[AnnO'Neemus]

I don't suppose anyone knows the whereabouts of the Housing Ombudsman office? I think they have an office in/around Liverpool, but I've only been able to find a PO Box address, not a real address. I'd very much appreciate it if someone could tell me a real geographical address. Many thanks.

 

[Supine]

On the website - looks like a liverpool po box and a london address

 

[Puddy_Tat]

this gives address at 47 North John Street, but may be out of date

appears to be this place (new barratt house) - can see various signs outside the door suggesting different organisations have offices there, but can't get in close enough on street view to read them.

also, if it's not publicly advertised as somewhere you can go in and see someone (and the tories have closed local offices of a lot of government departments / agencies since 2010) then you might not get any further than being told to bugger off by a security person.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

from their website

However, our office at Canary Wharf is closed so please do not send post to the Exchange Tower address. We would strongly encourage customers to use email or the online complaint form rather than sending post to our PO Box address in Liverpool. As we are working remotely, our ability to receive and send post is very limited so there will be delays. Please do not send original documents by post as we are unable to post them back to you. Also note that we will not be able to deal with large bundles of documents by post.

Which suggests to me that you may be better contacting them electronically anyway - their offices may not be staffed even if you can find it

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

I've been trying to contact them electronically since August 2020, several months after I lodged complaints about a housing association in February 2020. I only get an automated response acknowledging receipt. I tried calling a few times, people were supposed to be looking into it but never did. Originally, there seemed to be an allocated caseworker, but I'm guessing they left, because they stopped responding and no one else has picked up the case. I've even asked for my query to be escalated to a manager.

I was thinking of catching the train and going over there and trying to doorstep some staff going into the building and giving them a printed letter and politely pleading with them to review my complaints.

Because a year after I submitted formal complaints to the Housing Ombudsman, nothing had be done, and the situation deteriorated and I ended up suicidal again and spending a week in a residential mental health unit.

To save what's left of my sanity, I decided to rent somewhere else to live - I own my original flat outright, only pay about £60 a month service charge - but since April I've been renting another flat for £495 a month, because I don't think I would've survived the bullying and harassment from housing staff and harassment and antisocial behaviour from my Nasty Neighbour, I probably would've killed myself by now. (I was lucky to survive an overdose in around 2018.)

But it's taken so long for the Housing Ombudsman to consider my case that I've now run out of savings to pay rent on this other flat and I've had to start paying for it with my credit card, which is going to be maxed out next month. And I've been unemployed for more than a year, struggling to get a job. So I'm kind of fucked.

So I really need the Housing Ombudsman to crack on with my case - and hopefully give the housing association a kick up the arse. I know they have some staff and an office in Liverpool because of Liverpudlian voices on their phones.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Is it worth getting your MP involved? That can get things moving sometimes.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

I asked already. They haven't replied to my MP either.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I asked already. They haven't replied to my MP either.

That sounds bad - and like the organisation is deeply dysfunctional. MP letters should get prioritised. May be worth asking your MP to write to the minister in charge of the parent department - if they haven't already of course.

 

[quiet guy]

Take to twatter no public body likes being complained about online

 

[Supine]

I don't suppose anyone knows the whereabouts of the Housing Ombudsman office? I think they have an office in/around Liverpool, but I've only been able to find a PO Box address, not a real address. I'd very much appreciate it if someone could tell me a real geographical address. Many thanks.

What do you hope to achieve by door stopping them? Sounds like you need CAB or something else imo.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

What do you hope to achieve by door stopping them? Sounds like you need CAB or something else imo.

I hope to politely doorstep by handing out some flyers/letters with the case reference and pointing out the delay in processing my case has resulted in me being subjected to further bullying, harassment and led to a deterioration in my mental health, which resulted in a short stay in a residential mental health unit due to my feeling suicidal, and it's caused me to incur considerable ie thousands of pounds in additional expenses renting somewhere else to live, and hopefully prompt someone to review my case and investigate my complaints and hopefully kick the housing association up the arse and stop their staff and their leaseholders from bullying and harassing me so that I can feel safe living in my own home again.

I hope to 'humanise' my case by meeting staff in person, so they might be prompted to take action, so that they know my case isn't just a bureaucratic/financial quibble about excessive service charges, or a leaseholder complaining about a freeholder's failures to do carry out gardening work, or deal with someone else parking in an allocated parking space or whatever that it's arguably 'okay' to leave sitting in a pending file/in tray for 18 months.

I want them to know that I'm now not only having to contend with failures by my landlord, but also their own failures are causing/resulting in considerable ongoing hardship and inconvenience and moreover a very detrimental impact to the mental health of a disabled autistic person who is suffering from Complex PTSD and ended up suicidal because of housing problems.