What Is A Personal Statement?
The Personal Statement provides a summary of customers’ household members, rent account activity, investment in the local area and satisfaction with our services. You can see a sample here.
This is the first time Accent has produced a document like this, so we consulted with customers as to whether this was useful and to hear their suggestions as to how it could be improved for next time. You can see the full results of the survey here and and find out how we have responded to your feedback below.
You said: Some respondents did not understand why the ‘total rent charged’ and the ‘total payments received’ between 1 April and 31 March were displayed, and what they were expected to do with that information.
We did: We will aim to make this clearer for next time. We could provide:
- A more detailed breakdown of payments and charges.
- Payments and charges figures which reflect customers’ rent charging cycles and payment methods.
- All rent account information separately to the personal statements.
You said: Some respondents interpreted a variance between the ‘total rent charged’ and the ‘total payments received’ as a demand for payment.
We did: Our aim was to give customers an indication of the health of their rent account – not to confuse or alarm anyone. In the future, we will aim to provide a more up to date account balance.
You said: Only two thirds of respondents felt that the Personal Statement helped to explain the role of the Customer Partner.
We did: The Personal Statement appears to have met its aim of introducing customers to their main point of contact at Accent. However, further consultation may be required to determine how the role of Customer Partner could be explained more clearly.
You said: While respondents found the section on anti-social behaviour the most useful overall – some respondents felt that the figures were very low and did not relate to their own experience.
We did: Cases that were referred to the police or the local authority may not be captured here, and outstanding cases are not included. We could report on the number of calls relating to anti-social behaviour in the future to give a more realistic picture of the challenges that our communities are facing in this area.
You said: While respondents found it useful to know how Accent had invested in the local area, many would like to have known what investments were planned for the coming year.
We did: We would have liked to provide this information – but it was not clear at the time how COVID-19 would affect these plans. This is something we can consider for next year. In the meantime, we are pleased to report that we are reducing the lifespan of kitchens and bathrooms so that some customers can benefit from replacements sooner than we originally hoped.
You said: While most respondents found it useful to see customer satisfaction information, and to compare satisfaction from customers in their area to the national average, some respondents were sceptical about the data.
We did: We can provide the numbers behind the percentages so that you can be confident that a representative sample of customers’ views are included.
By next year, we should have gathered enough individual pieces of feedback to provide customers with a ‘personal satisfaction score’ – the average score you have given us for all the different services we provide. This should speak more to your own experience.
You said: Some respondents would have liked to see satisfaction on complaints resolution.
We did: Customers will soon be asked for a satisfaction score for handling of complaints via our automated system, so we’ll be able to report on this for next time.
You said: Customers strongly agreed with our proposals to provide customers with a personal statement on an annual basis.
We did: We will continue to provide customers with an annual personal statement – but will offer a degree of choice about whether this is an online or a postal document. We will also consider including other customer groups such as homeowners.
