Customer Service - Service Standard

We’re committed to providing our tenants with great services and putting them at the heart of everything we do. When you have any contact with us you can expect our staff to be friendly, polite and helpful. This service standard sets out our expectations and commitments for delivering exceptional customer service to tenants and applicants, and outlines a consistent, fair, and transparent approach to how we deliver our services to you. 

Core principles

1. Respect and dignity – We treat everyone with respect, fairness, and understanding regardless of their background, circumstances or housing status.
2. Accessibility – We offer multiple ways for you to get in touch, such as on the ‘phone, by email, online and face to face, and we make sure services are accessible to all, including people with disabilities and those for whom English is not their first language.
3. Responsiveness - We respond in a timely way to all enquiries, concerns and service requests.
4. Confidentiality - We protect your privacy and handle all personal information securely and in compliance with data protection guidance.
5. Clarity - We use plain language in all communications and avoid jargon.

If you call us by telephone:

• We'll answer your call as quickly as we can
• We’ll tell you which department you have called and the name of the person you’re speaking to.
• We’ll look to resolve your query on your first call so you don’t have to ring us again for the same reason.

If you email us:

• Our customer service team will take responsibility for your enquiry.
• We'll  reply to your email within five working days from the date we receive it

If you write to us: 

• We’ll reply within seven working days from the date we receive it.
• We’ll let you know who’s dealing with your enquiry and when you can expect a full response.

If you send us a direct message on social media: 

• We’ll respond to you within one working day if your message requires a response.
• We’ll keep the conversation on social media unless you tell us you’d rather we called or emailed you.

If we visit you: 

• Our staff and contractors will be carrying photo ID and will show it to you on request (if you’re unsure of the person’s identity please contact us).
• We will make an appointment before visiting you.
• We will contact you as soon as we can if we can’t keep an appointment.
• We ask that you don’t smoke in your home while our colleagues are there, and that you keep pets secure in another room. 

Complaints 

If you’re not happy with something we’ve done, we want to hear about it so that we can put it right and make sure it doesn’t happen again. You may like to talk to us first, to see if it can be resolved quickly.

We will always try to understand the reasons why you are dissatisfied. By listening and working with you when things go wrong to put them right as quickly as possible we may avoid the need for you to make a formal complaint.

If you do choose to make a formal complaint, we will continue to support you and help you through the process.