Standards of service
We want to ensure that we offer the best possible customer service we can. We have developed these Standards of Service, or Service Promises, so that you know what you can expect from us. If you have any ideas on how we can improve, please let us know.
Contact with us
- Our staff will always give you their name and be polite at all times. We will provide you with a full name if you wish.
- We aim to answer 90% of all incoming calls within 20 seconds.
- All telephone messages will be acknowledged within 24 hours. It may take longer to deal with fully.
- We will keep our personal answer phone messages up to date, making it clear when a member of staff is on leave or not likely to be able to respond to messages within 24 hours.
- Emails will be acknowledged within 3 working days.
- Our Customer Service Team will provide a telephone service from 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday. Occasionally we may need to change these hours to accommodate training, but when this is the case we will leave clear messages telling you when the office will re-open.
- All our staff and contractors will wear and show identity badges when calling to your home.
- Office reception areas will display a wide range of information leaflets.
- We aim to acknowledge receipt of letters within 3 working days. You will normally receive a full reply within 10 working days.
- We will try to ensure we understand your specific needs and will send the appropriate documents within 3 working days of the initial request. If we cannot we will write and tell you why.
- If you want an officer to visit you at home we will make an appointment and will aim to visit within 10 working days.
Information services
We will:
- Use plain language and avoid the use of jargon.
- Send tenants a newsletter at least 4 times a year.
- Publish all printed information to tenants in accessible print size, and make it available in large print/other languages/Braille/Audio on request.
- Send you information on how we are performing and a summary of complaints received.
- Send you once a year average rent comparison with other housing associations.
Maintenance service
We will:
- Carry out all repairs within the target times we have published (24 hours for emergencies, 7 days for urgent repairs, and 28 days for routine repairs).
- Operate an all year round, 24 hour service to deal with emergency repairs. Calls to our out of hours emergency repairs service may be monitored or recorded for training and quality purposes.
- Confirm that a repair order has been raised by sending a receipt of the order to your home which includes details of who the contractor is and the target date for completion. This will be sent to your home within 48 hours of you reporting your repair.
- Ask contractors to provide you with a convenient time for them to call and undertake the repair(s).
- Meet our legal duty to make gas safety and gas appliance service checks every year.
- Ensure that all our contractors follow our Code of Conduct.
- Consult you before any alternations to your home are carried out and give you at least 5 days notice before we start any major works at your home.
- Carry out external decorations to your home every 4-5 years.
- Ensure that grounds maintenance work is carried out in accordance with the specifications of the contract.
Neighbourhood management
We will carry out a detailed inspection of your scheme at least once a year. Residents will be invited to attend or to speak to the team during this visit. Following the visit an action plan will be drawn up and shared with residents.
Privacy and confidentiality
Personal information about you or your family will only be kept on file and/or disclosed to other agencies in line with Data Protection legislation.
If you wish to see the information we hold about you, we will make arrangements for you to have access to your file within 20 days of receiving your request. An administration charge of £10 will be made for this service.
Rent accounts
We will:
- Tell you the balance on your rent account over the telephone if you provide proof of identity.
- Automatically send you a rent account statement 4 times a year.
- Send you, on request, an up to date statement of your account within 2 working days.