The Call That Proves Time’s Up
In November 2021, I had a lengthy and revealing phone call with GreenSquareAccord's then-customer service director. The call, which I recorded and transcribed in full, was never intended to be shared publicly.
But in light of what has unfolded since, it’s vital people see it for what it was: a clear opportunity to work together — and a clear choice by GSA’s senior leadership not to.
I’ve redacted the name of the customer service director, but anyone who wants to figure out who this person is easily can. Like the operations manager, both have since left GreenSquareAccord to work at another housing association. I’m hopeful they chose to leave because they realised they had no real power to make change at GSA — and I hope they can now bring the skills they once claimed to have into a setting where they’ll be better used, and where they can deliver real value to the residents they now serve.
Meanwhile, Ruth Cooke is still in post. She has been unable to grow or retain a stable leadership team — over 50% of her senior leadership board are currently interim or recently appointed. There’s been a new Chair, a new board, and even new offices — yet nothing changes. Many frontline staff have either left, been quietly promoted sideways, or exited the sector altogether. The only constants are Ruth Cooke as CEO, Sophie Atkinson overseeing legal, and Steve Hayes managing the communications narrative. Their mission? To paint a picture of transformation while residents continue to endure the same systemic failings.
Despite all the fanfare, lessons are not being learned. Complaints go unresolved. Systems remain broken. The merger — even now, years later — can only be described as rushed and mishandled. The same empty promises. The same disregard for vulnerable residents, hard-working parents, and children who just want a warm, safe, dry home.
Throughout the call, I’m polite, constructive, and solutions-focused. I highlight failures, yes — but I also offer to collaborate. I explain that I’ve been listening to and supporting other GreenSquareAccord residents for some time, and I suggest clear ways we could work together to resolve serious complaints.
Instead of accepting my offer, GreenSquareAccord escalated.
They chose legal action over dialogue. They tried to shut down the GreenSquareAccord Resident Support platform. They went after my domain name. They accused me of copyright infringement over logos and colours. Steve Hayes even made a false claim to the police that I was harassing him and stalking him at events — all completely untrue, unfounded, and ultimately dismissed by police with no further action taken.
Meanwhile, basic repairs were being ignored, fire alarms left faulty, and no one was informing residents of missed appointments. It was never about the website — it was about control. And when they realised they couldn’t control me, they tried to silence me.
One exchange from the call underlines how absurd it all became. Because my main email address was blocked under their so-called ‘contact management plan’, I had to use a different email account to reach the customer service director. That message got through. She then asked me to keep using the bypass address to ensure future emails reached her — effectively admitting that their own system didn’t work:
Customer Service Director: “If you want any direct contact with me... I would like you to use the other, this other email address... so that you know it’s going to get to me.”
Me: “But then doesn’t that undermine the complete pointlessness of having my email address on divert?”
If your system only works when residents find ways to bypass it, your system is broken.
What they should’ve done is assign me a proper point of contact — because I wasn’t just another tenant. I had skin in the game. I brought insight, facts, and evidence. I wanted to help improve the service for others — and I was offering to do it all for free.
My only hope was that they would deliver the service they promised. That my home — and the homes of thousands of other residents — would be maintained properly, kept safe, and retain their value, rather than fall into disrepair and eventually be sold off at a discount to balance GSA’s books, all while our service charges continue to rise.
And yet, they didn’t want a partner — they wanted silence. When they didn’t get it, they chose intimidation.
Senior leadership were aware. The customer service director explicitly said she was taking my concerns “to the team.” If not Ruth Cooke and her execs, then who?
This wasn’t a communication breakdown. It was a deliberate strategy.
Fast forward to May 2025, and little has changed. A report in the Swindon Advertiser describes a water leak in a resident’s garden that lasted for weeks without resolution. Thames Water blamed GreenSquareAccord. The resident was met with silence.
Despite new faces in customer service and operations, the same patterns persist. The only constant? Ruth Cooke.
This isn’t about bad luck or under-resourcing. It’s about a leadership culture that sees complaints as threats, not opportunities. A leadership that clings to control instead of committing to change. A leadership that has had every chance to listen — and keeps choosing silence. - They had a choice.