Services you can rely on

We encourage you to get involved in our customer groups, where you can tell us what matters most to you and help us make better decisions and deliver better services. 

Customer trust matters, rental customers scored us 69.5% for trust and home owners 53.8%. We are listening to customer views so we can continuously improve.

Complaints and compliments

• 529 complaints received (significant increase as expectations and use of AI rise)
• 116 compliments received
• 96.79% stage one complaints resolved within 10 working days (target 92%)
• 85.54% resolved and closed at stage one (target 95%)

‘Lessons learnt’ are discussed at monthly complaint meetings, monitored in quarterly reports to our customer scrutiny group, board and executive team, and shared at monthly colleague briefings. There is a board member with dedicated responsibility for complaints. 

Ombudsman

Nine determinations were made, of which, five included findings of maladministration and eight determinations of a service failure. We met all the requirements of the determinations and resulting compensation payments totalled £1,660.50.

There were 43 instances of anti-social behaviour handled by housing management colleagues. Compared with the previous year, there was a noticeable increase in reports relating to drugs, alcohol, and noise nuisance. Violence and offensive behaviour continue to be an issue. There was a reduction in incidents involving damage to property, animal nuisance, and threats of abuse or violence.

We work with customers, the police and other agencies to develop and monitor action plans.

The Westward Assurance guarantees that no customer risks losing their home through cost of living pressures, so long as they are in contact and working with us to meet payment plans. This means we are able to keep evictions to an absolute minimum. 

All this has helped keep rent arrears at 2.03%. Thirty tenancies were ended by Westward for reasons including tenancy breach, anti-social behaviour, abandoning the property, non-engagement over arrears and section 21 (non-specific reasons).  

Need a financial assessment?

Please ask us. We can check that you are receiving all the funds and benefits you are entitled to as well as signposting you with any debt management.

Our ‘Behind Every Door’ scheme is all about checking in with you, not checking up on you. By staying in regular contact with customers through visits and routine appointments, we can make sure our records are up to date, identify any support needs and help keep people safe and well in their homes. The number of customers who hadn’t received a visit in the past 12 months is reducing significantly, it’s all about staying connected so help is there when you need it.