How we deal with repairs

Appointments

If Lovell Respond needs to get in to your home to do a repair, you will be offered a morning or afternoon appointment, to suit your convenience. We cannot give a more specific time.

Lovell Respond| will send you an acknowledgement for each repair reported, so you know that we will deal with it and what priority it has been given.

If you have reported the repair by letter and the appointment offered is not convenient for you, please contact Customer Services on 0800 408 2000 and select Option 1 to arrange for the appointment to be rearranged.

Please keep your appointment

Once an appointment has been made it is important that you are in when the worker calls. If you can't keep the appointment please let us know as soon as possible.

Appointment times:
MORNING appointments are between 8am and 12 noon.

AFTERNOON appointments are between 12 noon and 8pm.

SATURDAY appointments are available from 8am to 12 noon.

Please let us know if you have any special needs like for us to knock loudly when we call or if you would like us to avoid school run times.

Access to your home

Housing Officers, and any other person we have authorised , may at some time need to get into your home. For example, access may be needed to inspect the state of a repair or to carry out repairs to your home or to an adjoining property or to carry out survey work. Access will also be required to carry out annual servicing of any gas central heating installed.

Under your tenancy agreement you must allow them access to the premises at any time between 7.30am and 8.00pm, and at any other time in an emergency. We will give advance notice whenever we can.

Moving furniture and carpets

Access also includes moving any white goods, furniture and lifting carpets yourself to allow repairs to be done. Carpets are supplied and fitted by tenants and are your responsibility.

If carpets have to be lifted to carry out a repair we cannot be held responsible. You are responsible for making sure furniture and carpets are moved out of the way, ready for the work to be done.

Security

Lovell Respond operatives and staff from Gloucester City Homes carry official identity cards that include their photographs which they will show to you before entering your home.

If you are in any doubt about letting someone into your home please check first by calling our Customer Services Line.

Sometimes work is carried out by contractors working in partnership with Gloucester City Homes. They will not have identity cards, but should be able to produce works orders or other documents to show that they are working on our behalf. Do not accept photocopies.

Contractors should also be able to give you the name and phone number of a housing officer you can contact to check they are genuine.

If in doubt - shut them out
If you are in any doubt about the identity of a caller DO NOT let them in. Ask them to call again later, so you have time to check them out, and then shut the door on them.

Contact our Customer Services Team or our repairs service to check whether they are from the Gloucester City Homes or not.

Bogus callers - warning cards
Free 'Uninvited Caller Warning Cards' are available from our offices. You can fix the card in your front window to warn bogus callers that you are on the alert.

The card also gives a checklist to remind you what to do if you suspect anyone calling at your door.

Customer Care

While working in your home Lovell Respond staff will: 

• Treat you with respect and always behave in a professional manner; 

• Introduce themselves and show you photo identification before entering; 

• Explain what they are going to do and discuss how this will affect you; 

• Protect your belongings from damage, dust and paint; 

• Make sure materials and tools do not cause danger to anyone; 

• Keep you informed about how the work is progressing; 

• Clear rubbish from your home at the end of each working day; and 

• Make sure electricity, water and gas are connected at the end of the day. 

Repair workers are not allowed to: 

• Smoke or play radios in or around the home; 

• Use mobile phones during their work to make or receive personal phone calls; 

• Be in your home with children under 16 without a responsible adult being present; 

• Receive gifts from tenants; or 

• Keep keys to tenants homes. 

Also, they must ask your permission to: 

• Use your phone; 
• Use your toilet; 
• Go into other rooms in your home; or 
• Take their lunch break in your home.

We do our best to provide a quality service for all our customers. To help us monitor how well we are doing we carry out regular satisfaction surveys.

One in 10 of the jobs we do are followed up with a questionnaire, asking about:

• whether the worker showed their ID badge when they first arrived
• whether they were polite, helpful and friendly
• whether they protected the carpets, furniture and decorations, if necessary, before they started work
• whether they left everything clean and tidy
• the time it took to complete the repair work
• the quality of the work carried out.

We also give out a Your Views Count card for each job we do so that you can tell us if you are happy with the work.

If we have been unable to carry out essential repairs to your home or communal area within the agreed timescale, a discretionary allowance may be made.

If you have any query about your repair, please contact us.|