Homeless services customer care promise

We will always:

• Be friendly, helpful and polite at all times
• Treat you with respect
• Ensure everyone knows their rights and is treated fairly and equally
• Be accountable for the service we provide
• Make it clear what we can and cannot do

We will ensure that our reception:

• Is suitable for disabled people
• Has an induction loop for the hard of hearing and are able to arrange a signer (with prior notification)
• Has private interview rooms
• Waiting areas are clean and well maintained
• Will be open on time
• Provide a variety of information leaflets on Tower Hamlets Council and other services
• Has a customer suggestion/comments box
• Has receptionists wearing name badges

When you telephone us:

• We aim to answer your call within 5 rings during our published office hours
• We aim to resolve your enquiry at the first point of contact – or someone will call you back within an agreed time scale
• If you leave us a message we will try to get back to you within one working day
• We aim never to let a phone go unanswered during our published office hours
• Take responsibility for assisting you and not pass you around

When you send a letter, fax or email:

• We try to always use plain language and give you our contact details
• We aim to provide a full response in under 10 working days
• If we can’t reply within five days, we will send you an acknowledgement telling you who is dealing with the matter and when to expect a full response
• If we can’t give you a full response within 10 working days, we will let you know why and keep you informed of progress
• Faxes and emails are treated like letters
• We will ensure emails have our name, job title, telephone number and website address

When we see you face to face:

• If you come to our office we aim to see you within 15 minutes
• We will keep you informed of any delays
• We will provide you with translation and interpreting services should you require them
• If you prefer not to wait, we will try and offer you an appointment
• We will interview applicants in private

We will consult you regularly:

• We will consider your needs when designing our services
• We will always find ways to listen to your views about our services and will publish the results
• We will carry our independent mystery shopping exercises and act on the findings
• We will make it easier for you to comment on our services by introducing comment cards

If we visit you:

• You will be offered a choice of morning or afternoon when requesting an appointment, including specific times where possible
• If you are out when we visit, we will leave a card with our contact details
• We will show you identity cards so you know who we are
• We will treat your home with respect

Our casework standards:

• Within 1 day of your initial interview we will inform you how we will deal with your threatened homelessness
• If this means a home visit is needed, this will be done in within 14 days
• We will assess 85% of all homeless applications within 33 days
• If your household includes children or an expectant mother, you will spend no more than 6 weeks in B&B accommodation
• Our target is 100% rent collection for temporary accommodation and we will use all powers available including eviction where necessary to achieve this
• Issue a decision letter within 3 working days after the assessment has been completed
• Complete all reviews of decisions within 56 working days
• If we are unable to provide housing, we will provide unsuccessful applicants with accurate advice and information
• We will keep proper records of your case

If you complain:

• If things go wrong, we will make it easy for you to complain and will do our best to put things right
• Deal with all informal complaints within 3 working days
• Deal with formal complaints within 20 working days