At Trent & Dove Housing, we believe in putting our customers first and respecting their rights, needs and views.

This means:

• Finding out what our customers need & want
• Delivering services that meet their requirements
• Seeking their views about services & considering these in decision making

The Customer Care Code

The Customer Care Code requires the following behaviour of all its staff:

• Tidily dressed & wearing any designated uniform
• Carry proof of identity & display this when asked
• Introduce themselves to customers when requested
• Treat customers with courtesy & respect
• Treat the homes of customers with respect
• Be friendly, welcoming & helpful
• Deal with customers promptly
• Show patience, understanding and sensitivity in dealings with customers
• Be non judgemental in their approach to customers
• Comply with company’s equal opportunities & diversity policies
• Behave in a professional manner at all times.

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A Guide to... Service Standards and Customer Care

Complaints

Please note that there is a separate procedure for complaints relating to Anti-Social & Nuisance Behaviour.

Trent & Dove has a three stage, formal complaints system for investigating & responding to complaints and claims for compensation made by individual customers and by groups of customers.

We aim to give you the best service possible but accept that sometimes things do not always go according to plan.

You can complain if you think:

• We failed to do something that we should have done
• We did something wrong or to a poor standard

Before commencing the formal process however, we would like the chance to put things right for you. Please talk to a member of our staff initially so they have the opportunity to correct the situation or, if they are unable to do so, to explain the reasons behind their decision. We wish to use this as an opportunity to learn from you if our service has failed in any way and will treat your concerns as an opportunity to make improvements to our service where appropriate.

We hope that a solution can be reached at this point but do appreciate that there will be times when you still feel that your concerns have not been resolved to your satisfaction. You now have the opportunity to enter into the Company’s formal complaints procedure.

Stage 1

If after your initial approach, you are still unhappy with the outcome, your complaint should be put in writing, using one of our forms if possible. A member of our staff will help you to complete the form if you need assistance.

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How to.. Making Compliments, Comments & Complaints

Your written complaint should then be sent to the relevant Director for further investigation. Where possible, a response will be sent within 10 working days. However, if a full reply cannot be given within this time, an acknowledgement will be sent with a new target date for a full reply. You may be asked to attend an interview.

Stage 2

If the complaint has still not been resolved to your satisfaction, you can request that the Chief Executive of Trent & Dove Housing review the case. A reply where possible will be sent within 10 working days. If a full reply cannot be given in this time, an acknowledgement will be sent with a target date for a comprehensive reply. The Chief Executive may ask you to attend an interview.

Stage 3

If at this stage you feel that your complaint has still not been dealt with satisfactorily, you may request the Chief Executive to call a meeting of the Company’s Operations Committee. The committee will consist of 5 Board Members (including where possible, one Tenant Board Member, one Councillor and one Independent Member). Advisers will attend this meeting as appropriate. You will also be encouraged to attend and may you may be accompanied by your own representation if you wish.

A decision will be reached at the meeting and this will be notified to all relevant parties within 5 Working Days.

Housing Ombudsman

Trent & Dove Housing is committed to resolving complaints whenever possible through our complaints procedure. If after following the procedure you are still not satisfied that we have dealt with the issues correctly, or you are not satisfied that we have resolved your complaint, you can take your complaint to the Independent Housing Ombudsman.

A leaflet explaining this is available at any Trent & Dove office or you can contact the Ombudsman direct at:

The Independent Housing Ombudsman,
Norman House,
105-109 The Strand,
London
WC2R 0AA.

Telephone: 0207 836 3630 | Facsimile: 0207 836 3900
Website: www.ihos.org.uk

“In January 2006 the Government launched the Respect Action Plan containing their intention to introduce a Respect Standard for Housing Management. The standard aims to make a direct link between the enforcement powers of Housing Associations and the provision of support and rehabilitation programmes in the community. The intention will be to reassure our tenants that as a company we will tackle issues of anti-social behaviour quickly and effectively and finally seek to provide more accountability to our tenants, working in partnership with them to define and uphold standards of behaviour.

In September 2006 Trent & Dove signed up to the Respect Standard and in doing so we are confident that we are delivering a service at the required standard in the following core areas

• Accountability, Leadership and Commitment
• Empowering and reassuring residents
• Prevention and early intervention
• Tailored services for residents and provision of support for victims and witnesses
• Protecting communities through swift enforcement
• Support to tackle the causes of anti-social behaviour

In order to further improve our service provision in this area the company will continue to strive for improved service standards through regular tenant consultation and feedback from those who have suffered from incidents of nuisance and anti-social behaviour.”

Emma Bligh

Tenancy Enforcement Officer