Service standards - Archive Only

Service Standards

Our Mission Statement, Objectives and Values set out our commitment to making a positive contribution to you by providing high quality housing services and by participating actively in the community.

Below you can find the details of the standards of service we have agreed to provide in consultation with customers’ representatives, the Council and other stakeholders.

Visiting our reception offices
We will make sure that we clearly display the opening hours for our Housing Offices.

We will make that all reasonable steps are taken so that our Housing Offices are physically accessible.

We will try to keep reception areas clean and tidy.

Our staff will wear identity badges which show their names.

Our staff will behave in a professional manner.

If we ever have to close our offices we will:

Make sure we tell you when the office will re-open
Give you information about appropriate emergency services and other available options

Appointments and interviews
We will make sure our ticket queuing systems have clear instructions as to how to use them.

If you do not have an appointment we will operate on a first come first served basis.

We will try, whenever possible, to offer a choice of times and to provide an appropriate interviewer for any needs you tell us about.

We will make sure that requirements for an appropriate interpreter are identified and arranged as soon as possible.

If you need to discuss a confidential or personal matter we will make sure that you can do so in a private interview room.

We will aim to be on time for interviews with customers or apologise if we are delayed.

Visiting you
When we need to visit you we will give you a choice of appointment times.

Sometimes when we will not give appointments. This is normally when we are doing assessment work, like Tenancy Checks.

We will keep the appointments we make with you, or tell you if we need to cancel and re-arrange them.

We will confirm any agreed action in writing.

Corresponding with you
We will answer all letters and emails within 10 working days, or write within that time to explain the delay in giving you a full answer.

We will write in “Plain English”.

We will make sure that the full address, telephone number and other contact details of the writer are clear on any correspondence we send to you.

We will try to reply to any requests for information within 5 working days or explain to you the reason for any delays.

Our staff will put an ‘out of office’ message on e-mail addresses which will include their date of return and an alternative name to contact for emergencies.

We will respond to messages left by e-mail within one working day of our return to work.

Telephone Answering
We will answer the telephone within 20 seconds.

In exceptional circumstances we may direct calls to an answering machine or voicemail facility.

We will try to respond to any messages left on answering machines or voicemail within 1 working day of our staff returning to return to work.

When we answer the phone we will tell you our name and what section we work in.

Working in Your Home
Our staff or contractors who work in your home will:

Not start work to the outside of your home without letting you know
Apart from emergencies, only work between 8.00am and 6.00pm Monday to Friday, unless we have agreed otherwise with you
Keep safe all the materials and equipment used on site
Take away building rubbish from gardens and other areas outside of your property
Keep your home secure at all times
Try not to damage your garden plants and if this is unavoidable we will tell you beforehand
Show you their ID before entering your property
Be clean and tidy in appearance
Not use radios without your permission
Not smoke in your property
Use dust sheets and protective covers to protect your possessions
Be polite and clear about what they will be doing in your home
Make sure that at the end of each day you have working gas, water, electrical, heating and cooking services or an alternative.

You have the right to refuse to let our staff or contactors into your home if you are not happy about their behaviour (except in an emergency).

If things go wrong
Hounslow Homes is committed to providing top quality services to our customers. However, sometimes this may not happen. You may want to let us know when something has gone wrong by making a complaint.

We welcome your complaints. If you are not getting the level of service we say we will provide, we want you to tell us about it so that we can put it right.

If you would like to complain, please contact the Complaints Officers at our Call Centre. You can:

Write to us at:
The Call Centre
Ashmead Road
Feltham
Middlesex
TW14 9BR

Telephone us on 0208-583-3737, minicom 0800389 9821

e-mail us at complaints.team@hounslowhomes.org.uk or use our on line form.

Fill in one of the Complaints Forms available at all our reception areas and give it to a member of staff or post it to the Call Centre, or you can tell a member of staff who will fill it in for you.