Our Commitment to Customer Care

Customer care service standard

We will:

• Be polite and try to answer your queries as quickly as possible;
• provide you with comprehensive access to our services through the Local Service Centres, by telephone and through our web site;
• publish opening times and contact details;
• answer the telephone within 5 rings;
• provide telephone callers with the name of the officer they are speaking to;
• return telephone calls as soon as possible and within 2 days;
• reply to your correspondence within 10 working days and in complex matters where this is not possible, we will give you a date when we can give you a full reply; do residents want a shorter turnaround for replying to emails compared to letters?
• use language that is easy to understand and which avoids jargon or technical terms;
• give you access to translation facilities through the council's Language Shop
• make sure information is available in other languages or formats (e.g. Braille or large print) when requested;
• identify ourselves by wearing name badges;
• offer interviews in private areas where you cannot be overheard
• make an appointment where possible if we need to visit you;
• acknowledge complaints within 3 working days;
• reply to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days; stage 2 within 15 working days and stage 3 within 25 working days.

Estate management service standards

We will:

• provide a free phone service so that you can find out information and report problems (NB mobile phone providers may charge you for calls);
• remove offensive graffiti within 24 working hours;
• remove other graffiti within 5 working days;
• remove dumped rubbish within 24 working hours;
• ensure that communal areas are clean and free from litter and rubbish by:
  - cleaning lifts daily,
  - cleaning corridors, entrance halls, stairs and other internal communal areas weekly,
  - responding to reports of health and safety issues e.g. needles within 3 hours;
• from March to November all grass will be maintained with a height range of 25mm to 60 mm;
• from December to February all grass will be maintained within a height range of 60 mm to 80 mm;
• publish cleaning schedules in your block.

Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) service standards (previously this said 'enforcing tenancy conditions' as well as dealing with ASB, standards and timescales/ promises have been made clearer)

We will:

• investigate and record all reports of harassment and anti-social behaviour;
• provide you with access to a 24 hour ASB reporting telephone line;
• in the case of serious harassment or anti-social behaviour, contact you within 2 working days to discuss this and give you the name and contact details of your caseworker;
• in other less serious cases, contact you within 5 working days (this was previously 10 working days) and give you the name and contact details of your caseworker
• if your case needs to be referred to the Council's specialist ASB Team, they will contact you within 5 working days to let you know the name and contact details of your caseworker;
• contact you at least once a month to keep you informed and check on progress;
• offer support to witnesses through our Witness Support Scheme and comply with the standards set in our Witness Support Charter;
• give you support and guidance on completing diary sheets which may be used to gather evidence where necessary;
• provide extra security measures to your home (such as window locks and spy holes) if you have experienced repeated crime or harassment;
• remove racist or offensive graffiti within 24 hours of it being reported to us;
• write to you when we have closed your case to tell you why the case has been closed and what should do if the problem should happen again;
• contact you a short time after your case has been closed to ask for your views on how satisfied you are with the way we dealt with your case;

Repairing your home service standards

We will:

• provide you with a free-phone number to report repairs;
• answer telephone calls within 5 rings ;
• offer appointments for day to day repairs;
• treat your home with respect and clear up any mess we make;
• attend emergency repairs to make them safe within 4 hours and complete the work within 24 hours;
• respond to lift breakdowns within 2 hours;
• respond to breakdowns of door entry systems within 24 hours;

Improving your home service standards

We will:

• bring all the homes of all tenants in properties managed by Newham Homes up to the Decent Homes standard by 2012; previously 2010
• consult you and involve you in the planning of improvements to your home where these are required to Modern Homes standard;
• give you a choice of colour if your kitchen is renewed;
• give you a choice of kitchen when doing Decent Homes work;
• treat your home with respect and clear up any mess we make;
• deal with any complaints or concerns on the first contact;
• ensure the contractor provides you with a Resident Liaison Officer who will visit your home throughout the modernisation process;
• give you details of all proposed work;
• provide you with an out of hours telephone number, should you need to make contact outside normal working hours;
• in the case of major works, where practical, provide a day time respite area away from the work where you can relax;

Rent service standards

We will:

• give you clear information on what you need to pay;
• give you a range of ways to pay your rent so you can choose which most suits you;
• contact you within two weeks if you miss a payment, where appropriate;
• send you quarterly rent statements or provide a statement upon request;
• give you advice and help to claim housing and other welfare benefits;
• give you advice on how to get more in-depth help if you have other debts to pay;
• if you get behind with your rent, agree a repayment plan with you - but if you do not keep to it we may take legal action which could lead to you losing your home;
• check with housing benefits regarding any pending or outstanding claims before taking legal action;
• ensure there is a Rents Officer available to answer queries and provide general advice between 9.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. Monday to Friday;
• offer you low cost home contents insurance if you maintain a clear rent account;
• hold meetings of the Rents Focus Group twice a year to give you information and consult you on the service you receive;
• send you a newsletter twice a year to give you advice and keep you up to date with our proposals.

Support for tenants service standards

We will:

• give prospective tenants a copy of our relet standard so they know what to expect from their new home
• visit all new tenants within 30 working days to help you settle in and answer any questions you may have;
• provide you with a tenants handbook;
• assist tenants experiencing domestic violence by referring them to a specialist agency and taking any action necessary to help them keep their homes;
• help vulnerable tenants get extra support to enable them to remain living at home - for example aids and adaptations;
• provide an alarm system and an advanced Telecare system for older people that links to a control centre which staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (for an additional charge)
• if you live in sheltered housing, we will contact you every day;
• visit you annually if you are aged 74 or over to help you access support and agree a support plan with you within 20 working days;

New Tenants Service Standards

We will;

• carry out an accompanied viewing for each new tenancy, providing information relating to the property and its location
• ensure all prospective Tenants are aware of the lettable standard
• at 'sign up' we will show a DVD as part of the new tenants induction and provide a comprehensive information pack and tenants handbook
• identify the support needs of all incoming tenants and 'flag' them on the rent system
• signpost new tenants to appropriate support agencies
• provide clear information on the amount of rent & charges you need to pay
• advise of the various payment methods and issue a rent card at sign up
• provide advice and assistance in completing a HB form at sign up

Leasehold Services service standards

We will:

• send you an estimated service charge in April of each year along with an explanatory booklet and an actual service charge account by October of the following year;
• give you a range of ways to pay your service charge so you can choose which suits you most;
• send you a buildings insurance certificate once a year;
• If you experience genuine hardship, we will agree a payment plan for your service charge, but if you do not keep to it we may take legal action;
• carry out full consultation on all major works and send you the Leaseholders Guide to the Investment programme;
• provide you with access to dedicated welfare benefits advisor for advice if you are having problems paying your service charge;
• consult you on proposed service charges for the coming year;
• contact the Leaseholder Communications Group at least twice a year to consult and give information on the service;
• send leaseholders a newsletter twice a year;
• provide you with a comprehensive leaseholders handbook;
• meet with the Newham Leaseholder Group at least 6 times a year to plan and discuss services;
• send all new leaseholders a Welcome Pack;
• invite you to a meeting of the Leaseholders' Disputes Resolution Panel if you remain unhappy with your service charge bill.

Resident involvement service standards

We will:

• send you a quarterly newsletter;
• listen to your views through satisfaction surveys;
• involve you in the planning and delivery of services;
• hold an annual tenants and leaseholder conference or open day;
• hold an annual resident involvement month to encourage tenants to become involved;
• hold regular meetings with tenants to review services and the promises in the Tenants Compact;
• facilitate meetings of the Area Tenant Liaison Committees (ATLC) six times a year (previously stated every 6 weeks - because of Summer and Xmas we hold these meetings 6 times a year. Every six weeks would be 8 times….)
• facilitate meetings of the Borough wide Tenant Liaison Committee (BTLC) six times a year; ( same reason as above)
• involve BTLC in the performance monitoring of services;
• facilitate an Estate Watchers event at least three times a year to involve residents in monitoring the cleanliness of estates and blocks of flats;
• Support the development of new and existing Tenants and Residents Associations;
• Explore opportunities other than formal groups to ensure that as many tenants as possible are given the opportunity to get involved.
• Provide an annual training programme for capacity building for residents living in properties managed by Newham Homes

Communications service standards new section added- did not include communication standards in previous version

• send you a quarterly residents newsletter;
• ensure that our website is comprehensive, up to date and accessible;
• publish current opening times and contact details for key Newham Homes services;
• ensure that leaflets are consistently branded, contain up to date information, are accessible and widely distributed;
• produce a rents newsletter twice a year to give you advice and keep you up to date with our ideas;
• provide a leaseholders newsletter twice a year;
• prepare and distribute an annual report to update you on performance, finance, activities and what we have been doing;
• keep you up to date on events, courses, meetings and activities arranged by Newham Homes;
• make sure that information is available in other languages and formats (e.g. large print) on our website and for published materials on request;
• use language that is easy to understand and which avoids jargon or technical terms;

More information is available in the Tenants Compact.