CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDS
At West Highland Housing Association Ltd we aim to offer the highest quality of service to our Tenant, Sharing Owners, Owners and other service users.
At all times
We will:
- Be polite and helpful;
- Treat everyone fairly and with respect;
- Respond quickly to your enquiries;
- Listen to you and ask for your view about our services
- Give information in ways you find easy to understand
- Not keep you waiting without an explanation; and
- Admit when we have made mistakes and try to put things right.
When you telephone us
We will:
- Answer the call quickly – we aim to answer within six rings;
- Tell you who you are speaking to
- Offer to take a message or arrange to ring you back if the person you need to speak to is not available;
- Reply to telephone messages within one day;
- Use our answer machine only when it is necessary; and
- Arrange for a translation service if you do not speak English.
When you write to us
We will:
- Reply to your letter, fax or email within 10 working days;
- Let you know if we can’t give a full reply within 10 working days;
- Use language that is easy to read and understand; and
- Try to provide information in the best format for you, such as large print, in another language, or on audio disk.
When you visit or call us
We will:
- Open our offices at Crannog Lane, Oban, PA34 4HB from 9am - 5pm Monday to Thursday and 9am – 4pm on Friday;
- Provide a telephone service for emergency repairs outside our opening times;
- Make sure that our offices contain up-to-date information on our services; and
- Provide offices that are accessible as possible for people with disabilities.
When you want to make an appointment
We will:
- Arrange an appointment at our offices or in your home;
- Make the appointment for a time to suit you; and
- Tell you as soon as possible if we cannot keep the appointment.
When you visit our office
We will:
- Greet you straightaway;
- Make sure our reception area is easily accessible and welcoming
- See you within 5 minutes of your appointment time;
- Try to see you within 10 minutes if you do not have an appointment; and
- Offer you a private interview room.
When we visit you at home
We will:
- Be on time, if delayed, call you to let you know when we will arrive;
- Show you suitable identification;
- Explain the reason for the visit;
- Respect your home and all reasonable customs; and
- Leave a card if you are out, telling you how to contact us.
When you make a complaint
We will:
- Acknowledge receipt of your letter within 3 working days of receiving it and advise you who is dealing with your complaint;
- Investigate and reply to your complaint within 10 working days;
- Tell you how to take the complaint further if you are not satisfied; and
- Monitor complaints to help us learn from them and improve our services
- If we get it wrong we will:
- Apologise
- Make every effort to put it right
- If we are at fault, offer compensation in line with our policies and our legal requirement to do so
When you give us information
We will:
- Treat all information we hold about you sensitively and in confidence;
- Work to make sure the information we hold about you is correct;
- Only hold information about you that is important for our work;
- Let you look at your tenancy file as soon as possible, but no longer than 5 working days of receiving a request from you; and
- Work within the rules of the Data Protection Act.
When you want information from us
We will:
- Provide information which is useful and easy to understand;
- Write in plain English with no jargon
- Publish information about our services and policies, available free from our office, on our web site or if you ask;
- Send a newsletter to you at least twice a year and an Annual Report once a year;
- Produce other newsletters, when we have any new information to give you; and
- Keep our Website up to date with information; and
- Provide you with a statement of your Rent Account, twice yearly and Invoice Property Management invoices quarterly.
When you report a repair
We will:
- Provide professional, competent maintenance contractors who will:
- Be polite, professional and respectful whilst in your home;
- Provide you confirmation of their identity; and
- Where possible offer a morning or afternoon appointment.
- Provide an out-of-hours service by way of an answering machine or by calling an emergency number.
- Complete jobs with set times unless agreed otherwise with you:
- Emergency – within 24 hours
- Urgent – within 5 working days
- Routine – within 10 working days
- Operate the Right to Repair
- where we fail to do the repairs within the set timescales we will pay compensation
When providing Payment Management
We will:
- Consult with Tenants over annual rent increases;
- Give Tenants at least 20 days to respond to consultations.
- Give at least 4 week’s written notice before payment amount is changed.
- Provide you with a statement of your rent account, Property Management Account on request;
- Offer you a variety of ways to pay your accounts
- Advise you on where to seek advise on Housing Benefit or debt counselling
- Provide you with the opportunity to clear arrears by agreed instalments
- Maximise income from all service users by taking a firm action on arrears
What can you do to help us?
Your responsibilities to help us achieve these standards include:
- Being polite when speaking to us;
- Paying your rent, service charges and property management charges on time;
- Taking reasonable care of your home;
- Reporting to us any repairs we are responsible for as quickly as possible;
- Giving us access to your home to carry out repairs and safety checks;
- Repairing things you are responsible for as quickly as possible;
- Behaving in a responsible way towards your neighbours and other people;
- Keeping an appointment we made with you, or telling us if you can’t keep it;
- Read the information we send you; and
- Give the information we ask you for, when we need it.
- Give feedback in order that we can improve our services to you
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