Police sent to my home after complaint made about employee of housing association

[Milly Weeble]

Dear All,

 

I made a formal complaint to my housing assoc. about excessive noise made by one of their cleaners

(who cleans the communal stairs in the flats where I live, and who I've asked not to make noise before).

 

 

When I asked the cleaner to stop making such excessive noise, she was rude toward me and I was a bit shaken up about it.

 

 

When making my complaint to the housing assoc., they suggested that I complain to the police about the cleaner if I thought they'd been aggressive.

I declined and said that I thought it was unnecessary to involve the police and that complaining to them was sufficient.

 

Two days later (today) I have been visited by two police officers, who claimed that the cleaner had now said that it was me who had been aggressive !

 

 

They advised me that should she be noisy again not to speak to her directly and to contact the housing assoc.

I asked if I was being charged with anything, and they said not.

 

 

I also asked why it was deemed necessary to send the police, when an email from the housing assoc. would have been sufficient?!

 

I feel utterly intimidated by the whole thing, and believe that the housing assoc. are abusing their power and authority.

 

 

Can I be arrested/prosecuted for this specious complaint?

 

 

Anyone know what my rights are?

 

 

Or if there's anything I can do about this?

 

Best wishes,

 

Milly (worried)

[citizenB]

Did you make your complaint to the Housing Association in writing and keep a copy ?

 

It does rather seem as though your complaint has produced a counter claim from the cleaner.

 

I will see if there is anyone who can perhaps offer more advice.

[Milly Weeble]

Hello citizenB, and thank you for your reply.

 

I made the complaint over the phone, but sent the following email as a follow up:

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Dear XXXX,

 

Thank you for your email. Further to our telephone conversation earlier today, I would like to enquire as to whether or not [name of housing assoc.] have any 2 or 3 bedroom properties available that I could potentially move to (I am not in receipt of any benefits, and therefore would not be liable for the 'bedroom tax' and can thus afford more than one bedroom)?

 

I ask this as I no longer feel safe or secure residing at XXXX, especially as a single occupant. So far I have had to call the police due to harassment from the resident in number X, there have been several incidents of anti-social behaviour from the residents at number X, there have been incidents of criminal damage to cars parked outside (car tyres slashed), we were informed prior to the new year that there had been a burglary, and finally today's incident.

 

Any information you could provide would be appreciated.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Milly

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I suppose the email shows that I had made a complaint, but it doesn't show the nature of the complaint.

 

Best wishes,

 

Milly

[caro]

I'd be very surprised if the HA involved the police without trying to resolve it first. Do you know if it was the cleaner or HA that reported this?

[BankFodder]

I suggest that you carry a small recorder and record al contacts from now on.

S small digital recorder can be left on for about 8 hours or so and it will record everything. That way there is no room for any misunderstanding

[Milly Weeble]

Hello caro, and thanks for your message,

 

I received an email response from the HA, which corroborates my version of what happened, in that the HA suggested police intervention, which I declined as being heavy-handed and unnecessary. They also state in their email that the cleaner made a complaint about me (only after I had complained about her) and took the next step and reported me to the police.

 

I clearly stated to the HA that neither me, nor the cleaner were aggressive, but I did say that I was disturbed by the confrontation. It is the HA who suggested police intervention. I believe that the HA would have also encouraged the cleaner to report me to the police. All I did was request that the cleaner stop being noisy.

 

The email then goes on to state that I am in breech of my tenancy agreement and threatens me with legal action.

 

I just don't know what to do...Shan't be sleeping tonight methinks.

 

Best wishes,

 

Milly

Edited February 6, 2015 by Milly Weeble
Not allowed to copy the original message from the HA

[Milly Weeble]

Hi BankFodder, and thanks for your advice...which I will definitely follow.

 

Best wishes,

 

Milly

[labrat]

check the second hand shops like cex or your local elecs place

 

they tend to have some voice recorders they cant get rid of so do them cheap

[Steve__M]

excessive noise made by one of their cleaners

 

What was the excessive noise?

 

Playing the radio? Singing or shouting?

 

What time of day was it?

[Milly Weeble]

What was the excessive noise?

 

Playing the radio? Singing or shouting?

 

What time of day was it?

 

It was around 8.45am, she was singing and banging loudly (slamming a manual vacuum cleaner against every skirting board). The problem is that the flats do not have sealed front doors, they just have fire doors that don't buffer any noise (or drafts) from the hallway. If someone is speaking when entering their flat, it sounds as though they are in another room to your own. I explained this to her before Xmas, but since then the noise has increased. I appreciate the type of door isn't the cleaner's fault.

 

Best wishes,

 

Milly

[caro]

Hello caro, and thanks for your message,

 

I received an email response from the HA, which corroborates my version of what happened, in that the HA suggested police intervention, which I declined as being heavy-handed and unnecessary. They also state in their email that the cleaner made a complaint about me (only after I had complained about her) and took the next step and reported me to the police.

 

I clearly stated to the HA that neither me, nor the cleaner were aggressive, but I did say that I was disturbed by the confrontation. It is the HA who suggested police intervention. I believe that the HA would have also encouraged the cleaner to report me to the police. All I did was request that the cleaner stop being noisy.

 

The email then goes on to state that I am in breech of my tenancy agreement and threatens me with legal action.

 

I just don't know what to do...Shan't be sleeping tonight methinks.

 

Best wishes,

 

Milly

 

What does the email say about you being in breach of your tenancy agreement?

[Steve__M]

Although you haven't explicitly brought this up, you mention asking for a 2 or 3 bed house, but say you are a single occupier. Would it be normal for a HA to offer a 2 or 3 bed house to a single occupier? Is private an option for you?

 

By combining the two issues in your email the HA may have come to the conclusion that you are hyping problems to provide a reason for moving.

 

I am wondering whether the issues you have had with your neighbours are stressing you out, and maybe your anxiety was interpreted by the cleaner as aggression. The cleaner's rota may be set by the HA and she may have limited time requiring that she rushes (which means more banging).

 

The best option would seem to be for the HA to rearrange the cleaner's rota to do your building later in the day. But in practice, cleaning at 8.45 once a week or so (I assume) would not normally be considered unreasonable even if it were quite noisy.

[Milly Weeble]

What does the email say about you being in breach of your tenancy agreement?

 

In summary, it states (I can't copy and paste due to the legal wording on the email): Re: Verbal aggression - this is a very serious matter and - HA will not tolerate or accept this type of behaviour - breaches the terms of your tenancy agreement - should this behaviour continue then the HA may consider legal action.

 

It looks to me like they're making it up as they go along. It also appears to me to be a malicious counter-complaint.

 

Cheers,

 

Milly

[Milly Weeble]

Although you haven't explicitly brought this up, you mention asking for a 2 or 3 bed house, but say you are a single occupier. Would it be normal for a HA to offer a 2 or 3 bed house to a single occupier? Is private an option for you?

 

By combining the two issues in your email the HA may have come to the conclusion that you are hyping problems to provide a reason for moving.

 

I am wondering whether the issues you have had with your neighbours are stressing you out, and maybe your anxiety was interpreted by the cleaner as aggression. The cleaner's rota may be set by the HA and she may have limited time requiring that she rushes (which means more banging).

 

The best option would seem to be for the HA to rearrange the cleaner's rota to do your building later in the day. But in practice, cleaning at 8.45 once a week or so (I assume) would not normally be considered unreasonable even if it were quite noisy.

 

The flat I'm in now is a 3 bedroom property. I'm not in receipt of benefits, so I suppose renting privately is an option, but I'd lose all the tenancy protections I currently have (having lived here 4 years+). I merely made a 'small/minor' complaint about the noise made by the cleaner. It is the HA who have needlessly escalated the complaint and involved the police.