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Andrew Kidds Head of Customer Contact @Andkidds_Accent
Customer Portal Update We launched our online ‘Customer Portal’ in June. You should have received your username and password over the summer months.
Since its launch, around 3,000 accounts have been activated. This means that lots of you have still not yet taken advantage of this new self service via our website. If you haven’t had, or you’ve misplaced your username or password, please get in touch so we can get you set up.
Lucky Khan Housing Manager @accentpb
Season’s Greetings! I would like to wish all our residents a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Customers accessing the online service can now report repairs directly, view their repairs history, make payments and look at their rent accounts. You can access all our news and publications too, so it is well worth visiting our website, www.accentgroup.org and selecting ‘My Account’ at the top of the page.
Those of you already using the website and self-serving will know how simple and easy it is. So, if you haven’t already, we would encourage you to set your account up as soon as you can. Please contact us to find out how.
At this time of year, probably more than any other, is the temptation to spend more than we can afford. If you are struggling to pay your rent, or you need help with managing your budget in the final run up to Christmas, or any time after, please contact us, full details on page 8, we can help...
Andrew Williams Executive Director of Customer Services @AndrewAJW
Revised reception opening times As most of you now contact us via phone, and only a small number of you (around 5%) visit our offices, we are moving towards closing our office reception areas to the public.
From Monday 1 February 2016, we are proposing to change our office visiting times to: • • • • •
Monday: 9am – 1pm Tuesday: 9am – 1pm Wednesday: 10am – 1pm Thursday: 9am – 1pm Friday: 9am – 1pm
Although you won’t be able to visit our offices outside these times without an appointment, you can still contact us and access your personal information via our customer portal. The portal is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With mobile working for staff now in place, you’ll also be seeing much
They are designed to improve service standards to:
Head of Contract Management
• Help us to achieve 98% customer satisfaction.
@neilcox84
• Meet 95% of all appointments.
Neil Cox
New repairs and maintenance contracts for 2016 The new contracts will improve service and deliver better value for money.
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• Complete repairs in less than seven days on average. • Provide a service from 8am to 8pm on weekdays plus Saturday mornings. • Carry out ‘Home MOTs’. • Provide a handyman service.
more of your housing officers in your neighbourhood. Our Shipley contact centre is open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and from 8am to 12pm on Saturday. If you have any comments on the proposed new office opening hours, please contact us by Friday 8 January 2016.
You will be able to order repairs online 24 hours a day and track them. It’s a huge project for us, but we think you’ll agree it will be worth it. We believe it will provide you with a consistent and high quality service, at the same time as reducing our cost and contract administration. Contracts are due to be awarded this month. As soon as we know who the successful contractor is for your area we will let you know.
Introducing our new Customer Contact Centre Andrew Kidds, Head of Customer Contact @Andkidds_Accent
With our new customer contact centre located in Shipley, we are now in a much stronger position to improve the quality of services you can access, and develop our digital service. We have been recruiting and training new staff throughout the summer period and have a great team ready to support you. When you call us, we understand that it is often to deal with something more complex than just reporting a repair or making a payment so having trained, knowledgeable staff to support you is our priority.
“Developing the quality of service we provide directly to our customers has been the main reason for bringing our contact centres together in one building. Our digital transformation is well underway too with services easy to access online. We understand that a ‘quality’ service to most people means that their enquiry is dealt with fully at the first point of contact with little or no follow up required. We are investing in our staff training as well as technology to ensure we can deliver on this objective from our contact centre.”
We’re excited about Mobile Workin g see pag e8
The Perfect Fit: helping you to find the right home Have you thought about moving to a smaller home that better suits your needs? We can help, both practically and financially, by providing support to move, or a financial payment of up to £500. We can help with, for instance, arranging removals, disconnecting and reconnecting appliances and offering decorating vouchers. To qualify, you must leave your home in good, clean condition and be willing to move quickly – with reasonable notice. You will also receive a further £250 for each room you free up. For example, if you move from a 3-bed home to a 1-bed home, we will offer you an extra £500 for freeing up 2 bedrooms. Interested? Please contact us and when a suitable property becomes available, we will be in touch. @ CONTACT US SEE PAGE 8
Benefits could include: You may no longer be affected by bedroom tax Your bills and rent may reduce Your home may be easier to maintain You may be closer to friends and family, and amenities and services Your home might be more accessible and easily updated
We will provide support to move, or a financial payment of up to £500 3
Right to buy You may know that the Government has proposed plans to extend the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme to housing association residents. As yet, the Government has not made it clear exactly how the scheme will work, and we do not think it will come into effect before the summer of 2016. However, if you are interested in owning your own home one day, it may help to make that ambition more of a reality. The Government may limit the funding available to support the scheme, so it is really too early to provide much information. However there are things you will need to consider. Are you eligible? You will need to have been a social housing resident for a set number of years. Some homes may be exempt – but we do not know what the restrictions are yet. If your home is exempt, you may be entitled to a ‘portable discount’ which you can use to help you buy another property. Can you afford it? You will need to think about whether you can get a deposit and a mortgage and if you can keep up with the repayments, as well as whether you can afford the service charge, any ground rent and the repairs and maintenance your home will need. Other costs to consider are solicitor’s fees, stamp duty, valuation fees and surveyors’ fees. The Money Advice Service website www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk has free
information to help you understand and calculate these costs. The Government has also set up a useful advice website: https://righttobuy.communities.gov.uk Will it suit your lifestyle? Owning a home is a long term commitment which doesn’t suit everybody. Some people prefer not to have the responsibility of carrying out repairs, or they want to be flexible about where they live. Owning a home can limit some people’s opportunities to move for work or other reasons, downsizing and upsizing can be more difficult too.
TELL US YOUR VIEWS If you think you’d like to buy your home at some point now or in the future, we would like to hear from you. We are keeping a ‘register of interest’ so we can understand and plan for how we can best help our customers. We will contact you when we know how the scheme will operate. Did you know that we also build and provide shared ownership homes in some areas? This could be another way for you to get on the property ladder. See our website for details – www.accentgroup.org/find-a-home
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Festive Wordsearch Our wordsearch is full of the things you might expect to find at Christmas. There are no prizes for finding the words, it’s just for fun. We have listed 12 words for you – but there is a hidden 13th word. Why not post the hidden word on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/accentdpb if you find it.
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Missing Word: @ CONTACT US SEE PAGE 8
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Buy batteries for your gadgets and toys. Watch out for small things that could cause choking – like small parts. Keep decorations and cards away from fires and other heat sources.
Never leave a burning candle unattended, put them out before going to bed and don’t put them underneath decorations or on a Christmas tree. Turn off Christmas lights when you goto bed. Keep Christmas novelties out of reach from young children. Give yourself enough time to make Christmas dinner. Don’t let chargers and wires trail across the floor and don’t overload sockets. Make sure stairs are well lit and free from obstacles. Follow the Firework code for your New Year fireworks parties.
Partnership working in Nottingham
Fulbourn up for an award
by Maria Gawdiak
by Emily Barber
Keeping safe at Christmas by Rebecca Jones
Every year, people are treated in A&E after being involved in house fires and incidents with candles, Christmas trees and lights. Following some of these seasonal safety tips could help to keep you and your family safe this Christmas.
It is important that we work closely with our stakeholders and partners, especially when it comes to letting our sheltered homes. Homelink is our local choice based lettings scheme in the Nottingham City area. At a recent fundraising event, I met the Homelink team, and became part of a jointly funded project with the NHS. The project is aimed at older people and means to save money by supporting the NHS to reduce bed blocking on hospital admittance and discharge where more suitable accommodation can be found. Westhay Court, which is within the Nottingham City boundary, has a number of facilities and regular social activities which help to combat loneliness and social isolation. The scheme is ideal for retirement living. The scheme celebrated its 25th year in 2014 and marked the event in conjunction with Armistice Day.
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Earlier this year, we entered our Fulbourn development in for an award. We were really pleased when it was shortlisted. In October, I attended an official awards ceremony in London. It was a great event. There was time to meet other housing associations and learn about their schemes. Guest presenter Rufus Hound handed out the awards. Unfortunately, we didn’t win, but it was still an amazing achievement to be nominated and we are very proud of the scheme.
Neighbourhood Update
Neighbourhood Update
by Toyah Thomas
by Adele Light
Our experience of Universal Credit so far We have had a number of new claimants applying for Universal Credit and we have been supporting our residents with help and advice on managing their finances.
Christmas Disposals As well as the gifts and cards we all like to get at Christmas, we often find ourselves with the extra packaging and wrapping to dispose of after.
We want to prevent you from getting into rent arrears as this will lead to court action. Court action will incur further charges and if your arrears get too high, you will lose your home. If you are concerned about Universal Credit, even if you are not yet claiming it, please contact us. We are here to help. Action on hearing We need to make sure our services are accessible to a deaf or deafened person. I recently attended a course on deaf awareness which was run by Action on Hearing Loss. The course covered an appreciation of deafness and we discussed the barriers faced by deafened and hard of hearing people. It made me think of all the things I take for granted. If you would like to check your own hearing, or you have a loved one who may need a gentle nudge in the right direction, phone 0844 800 3838 or go online at www.actionhearingloss.org.uk/hearingcheck
We’d like to wish all our residents a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year! @ CONTACT US SEE PAGE 8
Fly tipping Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of waste. It can be rubbish, furniture, builder’s rubble or garden waste. There are many recycling centres you can use to dispose of unwanted items and you can ask for a special collection service from your home. Contact your local council for more information. Fly tipping is a serious criminal offence; it carries a maximum penalty of an unlimited fine or up to five years imprisonment in serious cases. For us to collect fly-tipping at a scheme is costly, and may result in an increase in the service charge you pay.
Working in Partnership by Stephanie Perrin
We are really pleased to be working with Cambridgeshire County Council, Fenland Learning Disability Partnership and Fitzroy Carers to arrange suitable accommodation for people with disabilities in two of our semi detached bungalows. Each bungalow has low level access, a wet room, wider doorways and adjustable kitchen fixtures and fittings. The properties are occupied by residents who receive constant care.
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Using mobile technology, your local team should be out on our schemes more often in future and will be able to deal with any aspect of your tenancy whilst visiting you in your home – that’s anything from reporting a repair to helping you with your rent account.
Steve Dungworth Head of Corporate Services @accentICT
Mobile Working Our staff, with their new mobile devices, are now equipped to deliver an even better service to you.
We think this will make us more efficient by enabling our staff to see more of you by spending less time in the office. It’s all part of our personal, modern and better service.
Universal Credit is now replacing a range of in work and out of work benefits across most areas of the country.
Damian Roche Regional Housing Director @accentpb
If you currently receive in work or out of work benefits, there is a good chance that you could move onto Universal Credit at some point in the coming months. Universal Credit brings a big change in how rent is paid. It is no longer paid directly to us by the Housing Benefit department – you will be responsible for making the payment yourself. Universal Credit is also paid monthly rather than fortnightly or every four weeks. For some people, this will mean a new way of budgeting. If you move onto Universal Credit, it is important that you tell us and let us know when your payment date is.
If you have any concerns about how the new benefit affects your rent payments please contact us. Our staff have been trained in how to deal with Universal Credit and will be able to help you set up payments to make sure your rent is paid on time. We can also help you with household budgeting.
Stay in touch! Address: Manor House 57 Lincoln Road Peterborough PE1 2RR
Telephone: 0345 678 0595 Email: peterborough@accentgroup.org
Social media: @accentpb /accentpb www.accentgroup.org