Two changes this month to improve our repairs service to you

Great news! Starting on Saturday 13 August, our repairs teams are trialling Saturday appointments and launching text messages to keep you up to date with regards to your repair appointment.

These improvements to our service follow feedback from customers and are part of our commitment to deliver great services that meet your needs.

Saturday appointments

Feedback from our Customer Voice Panel (CVP) told us that you would like the flexibility to book a repair for a time that is most convenient for you.

We have taken this on board and from 13 August – 29 October, we will be trialling appointments for routine repairs on Saturdays, 8am-4pm.

These appointments are for non-emergency repairs only, for example replacing a light switch, unblocking waste pipes, or completing minor plastering.

In some circumstances, we may need to call back to your home to complete the work. In this case, our operative will book your next appointment while they are at your property. Depending on what work is needed, this may not be on a Saturday.

If the Saturday appointment trial is a success, we plan to roll out a Saturday repairs service on a permanent basis.

You will be able to check for Saturday appointments when you are booking a repair through MyAccount or by calling our Contact Centre on 0161 393 7117.

Major and Priority repairs will continue to be available Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.

If you need to report an emergency repair, please call our Contact Centre on 0161 393 7117. If you can smell gas, call 0800 111 999 immediately.

Text message updates about repairs

Booking a new repair with us? You will now receive regular text message updates from our team.

Texts will include a notification when you book your repair, a reminder of the date and time one working day before your appointment is due and notification when our repair operative is on their way to your home.

We will also use texts to reach you if we need to update your appointment for any reason, or book follow up repairs. If you’ve reported repairs in communal areas or the outside of your home, you will receive texts about these, too.

Our CVP has been involved in developing the texts, to make sure they are clear, easy to understand and provide the information that you need.

You can’t reply to us by text message but if you do have any queries, please call contact us on 0161 393 7117.

If you have never received a text from us and would like to, get in touch to update your contact details you can do this online 24/7 in My Account or by calling our Contact Centre on 0161 393 7117.

Steve Mather, our Director of Assets and Sustainability, said: “We want to deliver great services and provide you with a great experience during your repairs journey.

“Listening to our customers is so important and these new services come in response to what you have told us you would like to see from your landlord. Saturday appointments are designed for customers who want more convenience and choice in when they have their repairs carried out, and the text messages will help improve our communication with you during the repairs process.

“We’d love to hear your feedback – do get in touch.”

Get in touch

Please email servicecentre@fcho.co.uk or call our team on 0161 393 7117.