Decision From Property Ombudsman Without Asking For My Evidence Beforehand

Joh_Flow

Hello,
I am just trying to find out whether the above is standard practice with the Property Ombudsman.

A judge at my Possession Hearing said that I had a worthy case to come back to court just for the disrepair, poor service, medical impact etc. But I was not in a position to pay for that (as many people aren't when they are just about to move rentals).

I submitted to the Property Ombudsman in December last year. Received a few e-mails saying that there would be a delay picking up.

Today (after 9 month wait) I received a Case Review/Decision. The adjudicator has sided entirely with the letting agent. What has been offered was also deceptive (the letting agent was seen to change records for court too). Escalated complaints that were sent in the complaint process have just been discounted, despite them being down to persistent inaction.

I had not even be asked to submit evidence.

I can contest what is there (and will be doing) but can they make an initial decision without seeing both sets of evidence

silvercar

Did the judge grant possession?

owls1867

Did your possession hearing also include the other issues you've raised in your OP as one case?

If so, then the TPO will not consider any aspects of what has been heard or going through court, which may explain the decision? 

"In accordance with the Ombudsman’s Terms of Reference, they are not permitted to consider aspects of a complaint that a court has ruled on".

Joh_Flow

Thank you for your responses so far. I was misled that about the severity of pre-existing structural defects in my private rental.Within 2 days of moving in, it became evident there were major problems with ingress, rising and penetrating damp. Despite regular complaints, the Landlady/Letting Agent resisted provide repairs for the whole tenancy and eventually The Council deemed the property uninhabitable. The judge had to grant Possession because the house was uninhabitable. The local court only has 10 min hearings for Possession Hearings. There wasn't time to go through the full range of issues - so they could not either be heard, or ruled on. There is space on the Possession paperwork to briefly comment on disrepair, retaliatory eviction, breach of contract etc. which show Landlord culpability. It was relevant to answer these as the Landlady was asking me to pay her court fees after a shady performance. When raised the Judge said that they could not deal with the scope of the problems within the Possession Court. But invited me back for a separate hearing on them. I was advised were looking at thousands of pounds in court fees. I am not able to afford this on disability benefits. I was transparent with TPO about the above and they assigned an Adjudicator to the case. I checked Trustpilot reviews for TPO last night, most recent star ratings are 1 out of 5. Trustpilot says 'Most reviewers were let down by their experience overall. Consumers express widespread dissatisfaction with the company, citing concerns across multiple areas. People feel the staff's performance is not up to par, and this negatively impacts their overall experience. Reviewers frequently voice their complaints about the service provided, and many believe the company's ethical standards are questionable. The consumers are also unhappy with the level of contact and communication they receive. The strong consensus across these topics suggests a systemic issue that needs addressing'. Google review also have near-equal consumer dissatisfaction. So many people saying that too many cases are being dismissed without seeing complainant evidence. It seems it is mediatory service that doesn't do its job.

Murphybear

You may be able to get some help with paying court fees.  Details are on the .gov website under “Get help paying court and tribunal fees” 

sheramber

Joh_Flow said:

Hello,
I am just trying to find out whether the above is standard practice with the Property Ombudsman.

A judge at my Possession Hearing said that I had a worthy case to come back to court just for the disrepair, poor service, medical impact etc. But I was not in a position to pay for that (as many people aren't when they are just about to move rentals).

I submitted to the Property Ombudsman in December last year. Received a few e-mails saying that there would be a delay picking up.

Today (after 9 month wait) I received a Case Review/Decision. The adjudicator has sided entirely with the letting agent. What has been offered was also deceptive (the letting agent was seen to change records for court too). Escalated complaints that were sent in the complaint process have just been discounted, despite them being down to persistent inaction.

I had not even be asked to submit evidence.

I can contest what is there (and will be doing) but can they make an initial decision without seeing both sets of evidence

Did you not submit evidence with your complaint?

Joh_Flow

All the submissions initially are through TPO's digital portal. There was only space for my initial, in house complaint and the Letting Agent's final viewpoint letter. This isn't really sufficient for a complex case. There is a screen with it that explains that you submit all your evidence when you are assigned a case worker/adjudicator. This message also reiterated by e-mails sent during the waiting phase. I spoke to customer service at TPO this morning. He explained that since December last year, they have an extended portal that allows for your initial complaint, plus subsequent/midpoint escalations. These altogether form a wider view of what has been happening. Without the mid-stage stuff it appears although the complaints haven't been fully raised with the Letting Agent. I was advised to draft an email to say that there has been a 'material error' with the Case Review because the decision hasn't been made on full evidence. That both sides of the disagreement need to be heard for the procedure to be fair, that I have 'new evidence' because it was not considered before the decision was made, To let them know that I will not be accepting the decision as it stands, that the themes of my complaint to TPO were not used on the Case Review. There is suggestion of human error as their own procedures were not followed. However, this seems to be a common pattern, and many are having problems submitting evidence, having it considered, and in some cases it has been lost. I am hoping that won't happen, but I am nervous. I also asked for reasonable adjustments to timings etc because of the nature of my disabilities. They suggest response to adjudication e-mail could be up to a week. So watch this space!

Thank you Murphybear for the reminder on legal aid. So if I go down that route, there will be Court Fees and separate Solicitor fees. I will need to re-check this - as there have been cuts to what can be applied for. Even with that support, there can still be significant costs to the Claimant. I will need to weigh up if things are possible with my income. And to consider if I am able to go through court hearings medically. There is still the question of who is most culpable, the Landlady or the Letting Agent (one piece of info that could come from TPO). TPO investigation is one way of seeking resolve without the experience and costs of court. The Landlady is the Director of a solicitor's firm so can draft in high quality staff very quickly to cover her back (it's intimidating).