Customers were given the opportunity to meet the Housing Ombudsman, Richard Blakeway, at a special event held at our head office in Doxford International Business Park.
The event gave customers the chance to find out more about the Housing Ombudsman service and raise any concerns.
We work closely with the Housing Ombudsman to give customers every opportunity to resolve matters relating to their tenancy.
Over 70 customers attended the event in person and also via a live online feed.
As well as hearing from Housing Ombudsman Richard Blakeway, Gentoo colleagues were also on hand to talk to customers about individual concerns. All matters raised have since been followed up with appointments booked in to resolve issues.
Louise Bassett, Chief Executive Officer at Gentoo, said: “The ‘Meet the Housing Ombudsman’ event was a great opportunity to welcome customers into our head office to listen to their issues and concerns. Events like these are vital to us to ensure we can capture customer insight and listen and act on all feedback to provide a better service across Sunderland.
“We will continue to work in partnership with the Housing Ombudsman, and we’d love to host similar events in the future to give more customers the opportunity to attend.”
Emily Cox MBE, Gentoo Group Chair, said: “We were delighted to welcome Richard Blakeway to Gentoo last week. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and strong partnerships with organisations like the Housing Ombudsman are crucial to ensure we deliver safe and decent homes for our customers of today and tomorrow.”
Seats for the in-person session were booked on a first come, first served basis and anyone who signed up to join the event online could also submit their questions prior to the event.
Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “Meet the Ombudsman sessions are a great way to hear about the concerns your residents are facing, as well as being a vital way for us at the Ombudsman to raise awareness of what we do and ensure that residents know their rights around complaints.
“We welcome that Gentoo listened and acted on the concerns raised by residents during the session and will continue to work with the landlord and the board to help deliver better services for residents.”
The Housing Ombudsman works closely with Gentoo and their customers to resolve any ongoing housing disputes. This includes issues about disrepair, anti-social behaviour, complaint handling, damp and mould, adaptations, charges, leasehold and other housing management issues.
