Independent Complaints Reviewer to the Land Registry
Summary of Annual Report 1999-2000

When you are unhappy with the response that you have received from the Land Registry, where can you turn?

During the last year Mrs Jodi Berg, the Independent Complaints Reviewer (ICR) to the Land Registry, has continued to provide an open service to complainant's dissatisfied with the service they have received from the Agency. The office of the ICR is not a part of the Land Registry and its service is free.

The full report to which this summary refers can be obtained from the ICR's office and is available on our website:http://www.icrev.org.uk. The report describes how the ICR's office has built on the first year of the new service. It outlines a number of cases where difficulties arose over such stressful and emotive problems such as boundary disputes, shared ownership, distribution of property rights, joint tenancies, shared drives, and lost deeds!

The ICR's Overview of the Year

I am pleased to present my second annual report as the Independent Complaints Reviewer to HM Land Registry. This has been a year of consolidation and of evaluating whether the new system of independent review introduced in 1998 could stand the test of time by continuing to meet the needs of those who seek our help.

It is an important part of my role to act as a critical observer; to offer an objective and constructive view and, where possible, to raise questions and concerns to which the Registry itself must provide the answers and solutions.

The Registry handles the vast majority of cases with speed and efficiency and regularly attracts deserved praise from customers. However, things do not always go smoothly. The Agency is usually able to resolve matters to everyone's satisfaction and it is to the credit of Registry staff that few complainants last year needed to take matters further.

Complaints referred to my office remain wide-ranging. All are serious to the complainant, who has had to go through several stages of complaint review and has needed both determination and energy to pursue their complaint.

Where complaints were upheld, I found a number of recurring problems. In some cases, poor communication together with a tendency to 'blind with science' had exacerbated matters. On other occasions there was a protectionist element to the Registry's response and an unwillingness to let the side or colleagues down by admitting that things have gone wrong or could have been handled better.

"All I ask for is honesty, it's not a lot to ask."

It is important to make sure that customers understand what is being said and why and it is equally important to make sure that they understand what is going on and what they can expect from the Registry. To do this it is always necessary to explain matters in clear and plain language and to avoid the legalese that places the layman at a disadvantage.

"Legalese is a poor tool for getting things done in today's world and a fine way of obscuring simple matters to the wonderment of the laity."
Martin Cutts, Research Director, Plain Language Commission

In reviewing complaints, I have sought to achieve the fair and reasonable outcome that the complainant is entitled to expect. In cases where I upheld customers' complaints, I am pleased to report that the Registry accepted all of the recommendations that I made last year, whether aimed at putting matters right for the individual customer or at improving Registry services for the future.

However, in 1999-2000, far more often than not, I found that complaints were not justified. In a number of these cases, I found that the Registry had gone out of its way to try to resolve matters in a helpful and conciliatory manner.

"The complaint was totally unfounded and this was the conclusion reached by the ICR."
DLR officer

As I write this year's report my overall impression is that the Registry is now more willing to see the customer's point of view than in the past and is actively encouraging a more open approach to criticism and complaints. There are a number of helpful initiatives now underway which will support the Registry in its stated aim to become "the best in customer service throughout the public sector" and I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this process.

A growing number of complaints

The Registry now records all complaints received, both written and oral, and this has resulted in a 194% increase in recorded complaints in the last year. The ICR has in turn seen referrals to her office increase by over a third. All are treated seriously and with respect with the principal aim being resolution.

The ICR's office offers a modern, accessible and dependable service. Despite additional activity on complaints the office met most of the challenging speed of service and customer satisfaction targets set last year.

A new service for the Public Records Office and the Charity Commission.

In the past year, the office of the independent complaints reviewer has taken on further responsibilities and Mrs. Jodi Berg has become the ICR are for both the National Archives and the Charity Commission.

Putting Things Right

This office provides an independent, informal and non-adversarial means of resolving disputes between the Registry and its customers.

"I do not usually complain about anything but my family and I feel very strongly about this matter."

Most people don't like to complain and it will usually take some serious problem or concern to make them take active steps to do something about it.

The Land Registry has an internal complaints procedure which is explained in the Agency's leaflet Putting Things Right.

In the first instance customers who are dissatisfied with some aspect of the service they have received should complain to staff at the district office. The Customer Service Manager at the District Land Registry can help by referring complaints to more senior officers at the District Land Registry.

If the complainant remains unhappy with the response received from the District Land Registry they can refer the matter to Land Registry Headquarters where the Agency's Customer Service Manager will arrange for matters to be looked into on behalf of the Chief Land Registrar.

When the Agency is unable to resolve the complaint, the customer can ask the ICR to investigate matters.

The ICR will investigate complaints about maladministration including:

Comment by the Chief Land Registrar

Peter Collis, the Land Registry's Chief Land Registrar and Chief Executive says:

"I am most grateful to Jodi Berg, our Independent Complaints Reviewer, for her report.

I am very proud of the service which the Land Registry gives its customers. Almost all of our customers perceive the service they enjoy to be good or even excellent. Time and again, Land Registry staff are praised for their courtesy and helpfulness.

But things can and do go wrong. I am convinced that having a facility for the independent review of complaints is a vital part of best customer service. It is important that those (hopefully very few) customers who remain dissatisfied with the Registry responses have the opportunity to put their case before someone who is demonstrably independent and impartial.

It is uncomfortable to read about instances of poor service. Neither I, nor any of my colleagues, like to hear that we have let any of our customers down. But we have to face up to these cases - and learn from them. By providing constructive feedback on what we are doing well - and where we could do better - the ICR can help us in our drive to take our customer service to even greater heights.

I look forward to working with the ICR and her team in the coming year, and to learning from what they can tell us."