Feedback from customers of Housing Services

You Said ... We Did

You said
'The letter you send at the end of the year is confusing as it says I will get a council tax bill shortly when I have already received the bill.'

We Did
We have decided to remove the line concerning the council tax bill for the year end letters sent out April 2010.

You said
'It would be useful to include the option to request help from Stockton Advice & Information Service on our safeguarding application.'

We Did
We spoke to Stockton Advice & Information Service and arranged a referral process for customers experiencing financial difficulties and included it in our safeguarding application.

You said Regarding Voluntary Sector Support Fund Review

Community and Voluntary Sector members asked for a follow up meeting to discuss the collated reported from the series of Consultation Workshops and Questionnaire, before the final report goes to Cabinet in October.

We did  

We have agreed to arrange a meeting in September and circulate the combined feedback and Community and Voluntary sector comments prior to the Sept meeting.


You said Regarding High Community Centre Insurance payments

'Our Insurance premiums are high and we would appreciate some advice on how to save money and still be covered well'.

We did

Firstly we organised a Workshop called 'Insuring your future' led by BIB Insurance brokers to highlight pitfalls, risks and implications of under- insurance and followed this with the Offer of Catalyst (our Strategic Partner organisation) compiling a Questionnaire for all Community Centres, the results of which highlighted needs and comparative current payments.  This information was then used to lever a potential bulk- buy insurance service for all of our Centres.

You said regarding Matched Incentive Scheme Feedback
"You could never get (the Contractors) on the phone unless Accent forced them.  They had to be sent for time and again to finish the job and then again to do repairs and Accent had to make sure they did it."

"The job done by the plumber was woeful.  I had 4 different leaks around the house where pipe work was not properly soldered."

What we have done
Accent no longer use this particular Contractor due to the poor levels of service they provided.  A new Contractor is in place and on the whole the feedback received has been very positive.

You said regarding Matched Incentive Scheme Feedback
"Contractors smashed the kitchen cupboard unnecessarily in order to get pipes behind but they did repair it.  They opted for the easy option but to be fair they satisfactorily repaired the damage."

What we have done
The Contractor has been informed that they need to communicate better with the residents and ensure that the job is clearly explained from the outset.

You said regarding Matched Incentive Scheme Feedback
"The Officers who first visited my home were in and out in about 5 minutes and did not seem to have time to discuss any issues I might have regarding work to be done."

What we have done
The Contractor has been asked to be clearer when they are explaining the scheme to customers.

Feedback from customers of Housing Services