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The simplest way to report neighbour nuisance or anti-social behaviour is to phone, write to, or call in at your local Cosmopolitan area Office. Alternatively you can ask a friend, relative or councillor to report the problem for you. We will contact you to confirm that we are looking into your complaint.
If you need to report an incident of anti social behaviour outside of normal office working hours which are 9-5 Monday-Friday, you can ring our out of hours reporting service on 080810002578 where your report will be logged. You will be given advice and if your call is of a very serious nature this will be acted upon immediately. Your call will be picked up by a member of the tenancy management team the next working day who will then contact you to discuss your problem in more detail.
Immediate Response
If the problem is something that can easily be checked, such as an overgrown, rubbish - filled garden, we can simply go round and have a look. In cases like this, gathering evidence is easy to achieve and we can deal directly and immediately with the tenant to try to resolve the matter. Often things aren't so simple. If the anti-social behaviour is not obvious to everyone or if it's aimed only at you for example in the case of harassment or abuse, we will need to talk to you before we can start an investigation. Next Step In most cases we will need to meet you to discuss your problem and we will do this wherever it is convenient for you - at your home, in the area office or elsewhere. In serious cases, we will aim to meet you within 24 hours of you reporting the problem. To help us get a full picture, we'll ask some simple questions about it. For example:
We may need to speak to other people in your household who have been affected too. Action Plan At the end of the meeting, we will agree an action plan for further steps that need to be done by both you and us to resolve the problem. This may involve actions such as:
It is important that you undertake the actions you agreed in the plan as well as the association undertaking ours. Without your help we may not be able to find a solution for your problem. Talking to the Perpetrator If the anti-social behaviour or nuisance doesn't involve threats, violence or harassment, the first action on the plan maybe for you to talk over the problem with the other person. There's always more chance of resolving a problem if the other person can see your point of view. Sometimes a neighbour may be unaware that their behaviour is upsetting you or just needs reminding. As a good neighbour yourself, it's important to be reasonable in understanding the other persons point of view and accepting the different lifestyles of others. For example, you don't have to put up with regular noisy parties that go on until the early hours of the morning, but tolerating a one of event, especially if you have been told about it before hand, may not be an unreasonable expectation. However, if you do talk to the perpetrator and they are unreasonable, just walk away. Don't get involved in an argument. Mediation If you feel uneasy about approaching a neighbour on your own, we can set up a meeting for you and be there to discuss the problem with you and your neighbour. Alternatively, specialist expert advisors will help you to reach a solution you are both happy with. Your Tenancy Management Officer can give you more information about mediation services. Gathering Evidence Obviously, we can't take action against another person without hard evidence. The most important evidence is the 'incident diary'. This is a diary that we will give you to record incidents of anti-social behaviour that you see or hear. Your housing officer will explain how you should fill in the diary. You may need to fill in the diary over a period of time, so that enough evidence can be gathered to make a case for further action. We may need to collect other evidence too,such as photographs or CCTV recordings of the incidents happening. We may be able to do this ourselves, but if the incident happens suddenly it may be best if you do it. We may also speak to other people who have witnessed the problem, such as your neighbours. It may be difficult to take the case further without other witnesses. Your neighbours might be asked to fill in an incident diary of their own to provide supporting evidence. Dealing with the Perpetrator When all of the evidence has been collected, we'll decide if the perpetrator has a case to answer. If so we'll take action. In very serious cases, where there is a real threat to your or another persons safety, we'll take immediate legal action. But in most situations, we'll need to interview the person causing the problem (you can tell us not to do this, but it could then be difficult to take the case further). We'll tell them to change their behaviour and warn them that we will take firm action if they don't. Legal Action As a last resort (or where there is an imminent threat to your or someone else's safety) we will take legal action. This could involve us seeking one or more of the following against the perpetrator:
Equal Opportunities Cosmopolitan is an equal opportunities organisation. We will not discriminate against people against people on the grounds of race, colour, gender, ethnic or national origin, disability, age or sexual orientation. We are committed to treating all customers fairly and that all of the services we provide are readily accessible to all groups of people without discrimination.
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