Customer Care

Customer feedback is important to us...it helps us to see what you think we are good at and also what you think we could do better at.  We have our customer service standards which we work hard to meet and we also recieve lots of compliments from tenants and customers. During 2010/11 we receieved 266 compliments - thank you.

 What ever you want to tell us about our services, we want to hear about it....please click on ''Tell us something'' at the top of the page.

If you would rather speak to us you can call us on 0845 129 8075, click on contact us for all our text numbers and office locations.

Providing You with A Good Service

 High Peak Community Housing has a straight forward approach to customer care, service and support. We treat our customers as we would like to be treated ourselves.

 We are proud that our customers come first and always try to make sure that our customers are treated fairly and sensitively.

 We will go that extra mile to ensure that your issues are addressed.  One of our main aims is to provide you with an excellent service.  We have achieved the Customer Service Excellence Award and regularly review all our services to ensure that they are efficient, effective and provide good value for money.

Customer Care Standards

 We aim to provide a high standard of service whenever you contact us and our customer care policy has been designed to make sure that everyone is treated in a courteous, polite, efficient and consistent manner.

The policy also tells you more about our response times to enquiries from you, either in person, by telephone, letter or email.

We have devised the following Customer Care Standards to make sure that everybody is treated in a courteous, polite, efficient and consistent mannerat all times. Our Customer Care Standards are reviewed annually with our customers and they tell you how you can expect to be treated by us and how long you will have to wait if you contact us in person, by telephone, letter or e-mail.

With you our customers we have agreed that we will :

•  Be well informed and give you the information you require at your first point of contactl.  If we are unable to answer your query we will put you in touch with someone who can.
• Treat everyone fairly
• Be clean and smart at all times when dealing with customers
• We will identify ourselves to you so that you know the name of the person you are dealing with.
• Carry official identity badges outside the office and leave you with contact details  
• Display up to date details of our opening times and how you can access our services. 

When you visit us:

• Be easily accessible to all our customers
• Provide clean, bright and welcoming reception areas
• You should not have to wait more than 10 minutes before being seen
• Provide up to date leaflets and information on the services we provide.
• We will arrange private interview facilities if your enquiry is confidential

When you telephone :

• We aim to answer calls, on average, within 30 seconds
• If we have to transfer your call, we will tell you the name of the person you are being transferred to and brief our colleague about your enquiry
• If the person you need is not available, we will take a message and pass it onto that person for them to contact you directly.

When you write or send us an email we will:

• Acknowledge all letters, e-mails and text messages that require a response within 3 working days from the time we receive them.
• Send a full reply within 10 working days of receiving the original request.  
• An interim reply will be sent if a full reply cannot be provided within 7 working days.
• Write all our replies in plain English and avoid the use of jargon.
• Give you the name of the writer, a contact address and telephone number in all our correspondence.

We also have Service Standards in the following areas that are available on our website www.hpch.co.uk or you can request a copy by contacting the Business Services Team at HPCH.

• Tenant Involvement Standard
• Planned Maintenance and Improvement service standards
• Neighbourhood Management Service Standards
• Concessionary Garden Scheme Service Standards
• Nuisance and Anti-Social Behaviour Service Standards
• Rent Setting and Rent Collection Service Standards
• Rent Arrears Service Standards
• Repairs Service Standards
• Re-Let Standard

We will tell you how we are performing against our standards in our tenants newsletters.

If you think that we are not meeting our service standards or you have suggestions on how we may improve them or want to compliment us on our services, we welcome your suggestions.  If we don’t meet these standards and you are inconvenienced as a result then we have a compensation scheme.  You can find out more about this on our website www.hpch.co.uk or by contacting the Business Service Team.

Equal Opportunities

 We are committed to fairness and equality to all, operating with professionalism, integrity and openness.  We believe that everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity, respect and fairness- regardless of their ethnicity, disability, sexuality, gender, age and religion / belief or marital status.

We aim to make all our services accessible, welcoming and appropriate to meet the needs of all our customers in the communities we manage.  We aim to treat all our customers fairly and sensitively.

In order to meet this aim we are trying our best to do the following:

• Produce information specific to the needs of different groups of customers eg young people, elderly people, people fleeing from domestic abuse, people with disabilities etc.
• Provide information on our services in alternative formats when you ask us to, such as Braille, large print or audio.
• Make sure our offices provide access for all.
• Offer to visit you at home if you have circumstances that prevent you from coming to one of our offices.
• Provide translation for customers through Language Line
• Ensure our website is accessible.

Harassment and Abuse

We will not tolerate:

Harassment or abuse of any kind, including hate crime based on age, gender, race, disability, sexuality or religion.  This includes verbal and physical abuse directed at tenants, residents, HPCH staff and our contractors.

We will investigate any such incidents in full.  We will take suitable action against people who carry them our and support those affected by them. 

You can help us by telling us:

• Any incidents of harassment or abuse
• If you have any special needs, such as communication or mobility difficulties
• Or if we are not providing you with services which meet your needs

In order to meet the diverse needs of our customers, we need to know more about  our tenants.  We ask all of our tenans  to complete a customer profile form.  We use this information to help us tailor services to our tenants individual needs and make sure that we are delivering services to everyone in a fair and equal way.

This information will only be seen by us.  If it will improve the service to you, our contactors may also be given relevant information, but we will not share it with anyone else.  The information will be protected by the Data Protection Act 1998.

Data Protection

High Peak Community Housing  is committed to compliance with Data Protection legislation. Keeping our tenants personal information accurate and secure is a vital part of providing efficient services.

High Peak Community Housing must always comply with the 8 Principles of Data Protection when handling personal information.  We will only use the information we hold for the purpose it was provided  and will also only collect the minimum information necessary to fulfill that purpose.  When you provide information you will be told what it will be used for and whom it will be shared with. However, you need to be aware that High Peak Community Housing is required to share your information, on occasion, between different sections of the Council and with other agencies to help reduce crime or investigate fraud.

You have the right to access any personal data that is being kept about you either on computer or in structured and accessible manual files. Any person may exercise this right by submitting a fee and a request in writing to

The Data Controller

High Peak Community Housing

Unit 22-24 Calico Lane

Furness Vale

High Peak

SK23 7SW

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act gives everybody the right to information held by a public authority, including local government and Arms Length Management Organisations that are set up to manage a Council’s housing stock.  High Peak Community Housing is an ALMO owned by High Peak Borough Council and therefore falls within High Peak Borough Council’s Publication Scheme.

You are entitled to any information that is not personal information, or that is not exempt under the Act. You can access information that we hold by:

Checking the councils Publication Scheme which is a list of the information held by High Peak Borough Council and gives details on how to obtain the information.  The publication scheme can be found at www.highpeak.gov.uk

Making a request in writing to:

Freedom of Information Officer
High Peak Borough Council
Buxton Town Hall, Buxton, Derbyshire

A great deal of the information that High Peak Community Housing holds is personal and private to individuals. However, the Freedom of Information Act, will not make public private and confidential information.