SOCIAL housing provider Incommunities has apologised to tenants who are still waiting to get their money back - more than two years after it emerged they had been overcharged on rental payments. 

In July 2022, it was revealed the Shipley-based organisation had failed to set rents correctly - resulting in hundreds of tenants being overcharged.

At the time, the Regulator of Social Housing - which found the provider had set rents incorrectly - said work would take place to identify the exact number of tenants who had been overcharged and added that those affected would be reimbursed by Incommunities. 

The Telegraph & Argus has now been contacted by an Incommunities tenant who said they had personally been affected by the matter, having been notified by the organisation early last year that they had been overcharged by several hundreds of pounds.

They said they were still waiting for a refund from Incommunities and raised concerns about the situation. 

They added that they did not think Incommunities had done a good enough job in keeping affected tenants up-to-date. 

"When will it be sorted?" asked the tenant, who asked not to be identified. 

"This issue seems a long way off being resolved."

Incommunities said it "apologises to those customers who have been waiting for some time" and that it "understands their frustration".

The organisation said its teams were "working meticulously to ensure that each individual case is rectified correctly", adding that it was "in the final stages of this process".

Incommunities statement in full

After being approached about the situation by the T&A this week, a spokesperson for Incommunities said: "We have always been open and honest about this issue, and in 2022 when we identified that some customers had been overcharged, we immediately referred ourselves to the Regulator of Social Housing and wrote to those customers affected. 

"We are pleased to confirm that last month, the regulator confirmed that we have addressed these historic issues, and they have removed the regulatory notice. 

"We are confident that our rents are now set correctly.

“While we have already refunded some affected customers, we are not currently able to provide an exact number of those still awaiting reimbursement as the situation is complex and each case is unique.

“The majority affected were customers who paid by benefit, and these cases all involve coordination with local authorities and the Department for Work and Pensions to validate figures.

"We are continuing to work closely with all involved parties to resolve outstanding cases as quickly as possible."

The spokesperson added: "The affected customers who pay us directly and are not in rent arrears have either already received a refund or will be receiving a refund imminently, where one is due.
 
"We apologise to those customers who have been waiting for some time and understand their frustration. 

"Our teams have been working meticulously to ensure that each individual case is rectified correctly, and the issue is resolved completely. 

"If any of our customers who have been affected would like to speak to us about their individual case, we encourage them to get in touch. 

"We are in the final stages of this process and will be writing to remaining customers to update them once the review is complete."

In a notice published in July 2022,  the Regulator of Social Housing said: "Following a self-referral, the Regulator of Social Housing found that Incommunities had set rents incorrectly for hundreds of tenants.

"The housing association had wrongly classified some of its homes as supported housing.

"It also set some of its rents incorrectly on re-let and did not cap rents on some of its homes in line with requirements.

"As a result of those errors a significant number of tenants have been overcharged.

"Upon uncovering these issues, and in agreement with the regulator, Incommunities has committed to an external investigation into its rent-setting and is developing an action plan to ensure that errors are rectified and to minimise the risk of any repeat.

"This work will identify the full scale of the errors and the number of tenants who have been overcharged.

"The affected tenants will be reimbursed by the provider."

At the time, Incommunities' chief executive Rachael Dennis apologised for the "failures" in its approach.

Incommunities manages more than 22,000 homes across Yorkshire - predominately in the Bradford district.