Based on authentic user experiences
Rauf Gusejnov
6732 reviews
N/A
7 months ago
Worst housing association in the UK
I could not tell you in more certain terms to stay away from this housing association I have spent a lifetime living in either council properties or housing association properties Stadium housing and I have never come across any problems that haven t been quickly solved by the landlord or by community effort When it comes to Octavia however I have never known a more negligent landlord I have been having serious issues with a dangerously violent neighbour who threatens my safety spouts hate crime at me and physically abuses his wife all through the night It is rare I have managed to sleep through a night since moving in here He hits her and chases her around the house below me with her yelping in pain as she tries to escape him and their baby sobbing its heart out all through the night I have now reported the baby s safety to child services as absolutely f all is being done it is appalling in this day and age The walls ceilings and floors are paper thin and I can hear people plugging in their phone chargers or whatever it may be or turning on their bathroom lights When he is physically violent to her it is almost as if we are in the room with him I have had to invest in ear plugs to try and sleep at night My new partner came to stay with me and unfortunately got woken up by them at 2 in the morning He said the man sounded demonic It has been an incredibly unsettling and disturbing situation I call the police every single time as do other neighbours but nothing is being done The perpetrator runs away and returns back to the property a few hours later I inform Octavia But they are doing nothing I have been in touch with Octavia housing since the beginning reporting every single episode of abuse and noise outside of normal hours to them They have done absolutely nothing even though he is in serious breach of his tenancy agreement not even a letter His behaviour has got worse and worse and I don t hear from Octavia for weeks I have to constantly chase them and I have even had a staff member who s name I will not mention scream down the phone at me why do you keep calling me I m BUSY at which point I broke down in tears because I just could not believe this was happening and why nobody was listening to me or helping me I feel like I am paying rent for no reason and feel completely trapped with nowhere to go I am from a very low income family and feel as if I have no other options It s almost as if they know this and know they can treat us like dirt Every time I call up after a new incident with the neighbour including calling me a white wh e someone at Octavia will just say so sorry this has happened to you you should not be going through this let me transfer you to someone who can help you then oh no they haven t answered I ll get them to call you back with no call back ever happening On their website their policy clearly states that they need to send someone to speak to you within 24 hours for a hate crime as serious as this They simply do not care Its absolutely maddening and after just 6 months of living here I feel like I am going mad and I m on the verge of a serious breakdown The effects this situation has had on my mental health has been astronomical and today I have now sought advice from Citizens Advice Bureau who are looking into moving me into a new property under a different housing association imminently as this property is unfit to live in When I first moved in the ceiling of my hallway completely leaked in soaking down my walls with my brand new paint and my brand new carpet I had just had put down Octavia repeatedly never came out to fix the roof after making so many appointments I knew then it was going to be difficult but I was completely unprepared for what was to come Avoid avoid avoid this housing association at all costs Before moving in I saw the reviews and thought it was potentially just people who had a lot of time on their hands to complain no offence I was clearly wrong and just wanted to hope for the best But I can tell you I had a very full life friendships and lots of beautiful opportunities on the horizon for me This house and the treatment from Octavia is slowly stripping me of all of my energy and any happiness I had Avoid like the plague
Maggie Carman
6732 reviews
N/A
7 months ago
Not even one star
Not even one star Where do I start Recently moved out of their property I had an issue with deposit return which ended on a good note However their contractors Mears lied Mears stated a repair job had been completed which was a LIE another lie from Mears was they did not have a record of coming out to call for the same job 1st time which is a complete another lie In regards to Octavia housing it would be really helpful if management can make sure each tenants do actually have a housing officer that can be reached
Maggie Carman
6732 reviews
N/A
7 months ago
Wish I could rate this housing
Wish I could rate this housing association lower than one I ve been without heating for a week now I ve called numerous times to report this and they have yet to do anything I keep getting the run around and my time wasted This is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable The worst ever I would avoid this housing association at all costs
SH
6732 reviews
N/A
7 months ago
Avoid this HA at all costs if possible
Avoid this HA at all costs if possible They have workers which bully you even shout at you over the phone but as they re working from home there is no recording of conversations so the worker gets off scot free To him then not paying back WCC an overpayment Octavia recieved for rent in October last year has resulted in WCC threatening to take me to court for money Octavia has in my name Numerous emails and phonecalls later it still isnt resolved And I still have WCC breathing down my neck The length of time it seems to take for each stage to happen is appalling Complaints department are a joke to don t even bother to reply to you at all The buck passing that occurs would be impressive if it wasn t so appallingly obvious No-one seems to want to do their jobs there And if you try and get things sorted you are made to feel like you re hassling them unduly
RS
6732 reviews
N/A
7 months ago
Devious procedures unethical practices
They gave me and my wife a provisional offer and we went through a referencing check I provided all informations they needed straight away and they could see every transaction of the whole year and how much savings we had Obviously we could easily afford the place The only issue has been that being relatively new to the UK we did not have a credit history Before that the conditions have been clearly written that candidates were not allowed to have an adverse credit history but having no credit history was not stated for not qualifying Anyway they took over a week after the reference check to announce that they will withdraw the offer Furthermore even indicated before that having no credit history shall not be a problem as long it s not an adverse one and it s clearly to see that we can afford the place It s obvious what happened here They give provisional offers like candies and then start to pick favourite candidates which profiles they like the most The problem is that you play with existences of people which rely on you And if there are standard procedures which are being followed then communicate those from beginning And don t wait until there are more suitable candidate to show up
Princess Francis
6732 reviews
N/A
7 months ago
Ignoring complaints emails and phone calls What s going on
I have been with Octavia HA since 2016 When I moved in it was a good service I had a named housing officer who I could email and if I phoned someone would answer the phone and deal professionally with my enquiry It s very different now I have emailed several times over different issues and never had a reply I made an official complaint which I had no response to For the past week I have been phoning hanging on for 30 minutes then trying again the next day I know that the old CEO Sandra Skeete has left and Octavia are considering amalgamation with another Housing Association so something is seriously wrong here I suppose my next step is to go in person to the offices I wonder if anyone will speak to me there I think there needs to be a public meeting where Octavia can be held to account
Carlo
6732 reviews
N/A
7 months ago
Going round in circles
Well I got a reply here obviously not from a person but computer generated telling me to ring the number that I ve been ringing or email the address I ve been emailing What I am complaining about is not getting any response by phoning or emailing Going round in circles What s the point
Criticism Freak
6732 reviews
N/A
7 months ago
Incompetent staff AVOID AT ALL COSTS
Incompetent staff not calculating charges correctly with rent and service charges sending multiple emails and phone calls until they changed their mistake only until 3 months later my statement is incorrect Property damaged by heating service still not repaired despite multiple emails and not compliant with tenancy contract I will be taking this further with solicitor and will NEVER buy a SO from them
Criticism Freak
6732 reviews
N/A
7 months ago
Are Octavia s Financial Team Even Qualified
I have encountered many problems with Octavia getting the numbers wrong on my rent statements and service charges Why is their financial team always making such glaring mistakes It s deeply troubling and makes me question their qualifications It feels like no one at Octavia gives a toss or is even paying attention Can the CEO please take charge of this issue and ensure that no further financial errors occur The staff s apparent lack of interest suggests that intervention at a higher level is needed
fxstbsean
6732 reviews
N/A
7 months ago
Appalling service from the sales team
I am currently in the process of trying to sell my share ownership property Octavia Housing have held up this process at every possible point costing me time and money and a lot of stress I am trying to sell in order to create more space for my growing family Octavia are not supportive of this in any way They are have been persistent in their failure to respond to queries I have at any stage I have paid the required fees for various services that they need to carry out and there have been continuous delays As I write this I am still trying desperately to get hold of someone in the sales team in order for my sale to move forward It s constant blockage and delays and I am at risk of my buyer pulling out at this stage as everything is a battle They are very happy to accept payment for fees for service but never actually deliver and I truly don t know what to do at this stage I have written a formal complaint which I am yet to receive a reply for I m literally at my wits end