Connexus Customer Charter

At Connexus we’re focussed on our customers and are passionate about delivering excellent service.  The commitments set out in this charter align with the standards set by the Regulator of Social Housing and have been shaped by what you have told us is important. We want you to hold us to account and tell us if we are not delivering against these.

The commitments set out in this charter apply to all tenants, shared owners and leaseholders of Connexus.

For more information on the standards set by the Regulator of Social Housing, visit their website at gov.uk/government/organisations/regulator-of-social-housing

We promise to be open and transparent, allowing you to influence our approach and hold us accountable by:

• Always treating you with fairness and respect, delivering fair and equitable solutions for the things that matter most to you.
• Considering your feedback when making decisions about how our services are delivered and clearly communicating how this was achieved.
• Keeping you informed about what you can expect from us, so you can hold us accountable.
• Providing opportunities for you to review our performance and the delivery of our services.

Addressing complaints fairly, effectively and in line with the requirements of the Housing Ombudsman service.

We understand that your community is as important as the services we provide. Therefore, we promise to:

• Work collaboratively with you and other relevant organisations to ensure the shared spaces in your community are safe and enjoyable.
• Partner with relevant groups to support social, environmental, and economic well-being.

Work with local authorities, the police, and other agencies to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse.

We will deliver a range of tenancy-related services and promise to:

• Allocate homes in a fair and transparent way, considering the needs of both current and prospective tenants.
• Offer tenancies that align with the purpose of the accommodation and the needs of your household, ensuring community sustainability and efficient use of our housing stock.
• Support you throughout your tenancy with ongoing advice and assistance.

Provide guidance and support for those looking to exchange homes.

Our properties will be safe and well-maintained to meet decency and quality standards.  Therefore, we promise to:

• Maintain an accurate and up-to-date understanding of your home's condition to ensure it is of high quality, well-maintained, and safe.
• Meet the Government’s Decent Homes Standards and ensure your home consistently meets these requirements.
• Take all reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of you and your family in your home and communal areas.
• Provide a timely and efficient repairs and maintenance service, including planned improvements.
• Support you in accessing services for any needed adaptations to your property.

We have numerous ways for you to get in touch with us, access our services and provide us with feedback. This includes online by visiting www.connexus-group.co.uk, telephone, social media and face to face. When you contact us, we aim to resolve your enquiry promptly and efficiently and will:

• Clearly identify ourselves, so you know who you are speaking with.
• Listen attentively and ask questions to fully understand your enquiry.
• Provide advice that is accurate and appropriate.
• Ensure our colleagues are equipped with the knowledge, tools, and information to resolve your enquiry during the first contact regardless of how you get in touch. If this isn’t possible, we will:
  • Transfer your enquiry to the person best suited to respond.
  • If that person is unavailable, we will arrange for them to contact you within 2 full working days, or later, if this is more convenient for you.
  • Should the timeframes for a response be any different to that above, such as when making a complaint, we will advise you of this.

You can always expect our colleagues to:

• Be polite, helpful, and professional.
• Fulfil their commitments and deliver on promises.
• Listen to you and take ownership of problems, clearly communicating what can or cannot be done and by when.
• Take into account any reasonable adjustment/s required to deliver a service.
• Handle sensitive matters with tact and consideration.
• Rectify any mistakes promptly.
• Keep you informed about matters concerning your home or tenancy.
• Record and safeguard your information following current Data Protection legislation.

To ensure we consistently meet our commitments, we employ various methods, including:

• Conducting regular customer satisfaction surveys, some of which will be conducted by third party organisations on behalf of Connexus.
• Enabling customers to review our services and suggest improvements.
• Monitoring all complaints and feedback and demonstrating what we have learned as a result.
• Recording telephone calls for training, monitoring, and feedback purposes.
• Keeping you informed of how we are performing through our website, annual reports and newsletters.

Completing an annual self-assessment against the Consumer Regulatory Standards and reporting the results to you, including the actions we will take as a result to address any areas of non-compliance.

We can only meet these standards with your help. Here’s how you can assist us:

• Be polite and respectful when speaking to us.
• Pay your rent on time.
• Take good care of your home.
• Report any repairs we need to handle and allow us access to perform these and any safety checks.
• Be considerate and responsible towards your neighbours and others.
• Keep appointments we schedule with you.
• Let us know when we do a good job or if we need to improve.
• Read the information we send you and let us know if you prefer this in an alternative format.
• Inform us of any changes in your household or circumstances that might affect your tenancy, including when you start claiming Universal Credit so we can support you.
• Inform us of any changes to how we can contact you, including telephone numbers and e-mail.