We know from customer feedback that our repairs and maintenance service has not been, for everyone, the standard that it should be.
In May 2022, more than 20 customers attended an online repairs engagement Event, led by Chief Operating Officer Julie Wittich, to find out more about how we Accent are transforming our repairs service.
At the meeting, Julie explained how changes to our payment arrangements to contractors would incentivise them to do a good job. From now on, we will pay contractors an agreed fee for each repair job, rather than an annual subscription to a repairs service. This means it's in contractors’ best interests to complete as many jobs to your satisfaction as possible.
Julie went on to describe plans to reaffirm customers’ own repair responsibilities. We have found many instances of contractors carrying out repairs which are typically customers’ own responsibilities (for example; lock changes where someone has locked themselves out, unblocking toilets and changing light bulbs). While we will always be there to support vulnerable customers who need additional assistance, carrying out these repairs has taken time and attention away from customers who really need our help. Please click here to see which repairs customers are typically responsible for.
Finally, Julie revealed plans to set up a new contact centre, based in Peterborough, which will deal exclusively with repairs requests and queries. Advisors will have specialist technical knowledge on property maintenance which will help them to correctly diagnose repairs issues and send the right tradesperson with the right tools and materials to fix them.
Just so you know, our online repair reporting form, including on MyAccount, isn't available at the moment, so please ring us on 0345 678 0555 to report a repair.
