Update on your services – 26 January 2021
If you need us, we can help
During lockdown we will provide you with services where national guidance allows and in response to clear need.
As expected, lockdown is presenting fresh challenges to our delivery of your services. Our capacity is being tested by restrictions in our supply chains and the availability of staff. As a result, some services are being delivered differently. We will try to deliver as much of our service as we possibly can via the telephone to avoid face to face contact and unnecessary travel.
There may also be some delays as we make the best possible use of resources by prioritising need. Escalating demand means that long delays are possible in the weeks ahead, so please consider whether your repair request is urgent.
If you need one of our services and cannot wait, please contact us. Our established safe systems of working mean that we can continue to provide most customer services effectively and safely, although it may take a little longer than usual to complete work and we may in some instances deliver the services remotely.
Help us to keep everyone safe
When our teams are helping you, in your neighbourhood or home, please help us do this safely by following social distancing and national guidance closely. This will keep you and our staff safe and will help us to maintain your services as much as we possibly can.
We promise to do everything possible to keep you safe, so our staff may decline to deliver a service if they feel that all reasonable precautions aren’t being taken by customers.
Delivering repairs safely
Our established safe systems of working allow us to continue to provide a safe repair service for customers. We will continue prioritising emergency repairs, but customers may be asked to wait longer for routine repairs to be dealt with. Please consider this in advance of reporting a repair request.
As our suppliers adapt to lockdown, we are experiencing limitations on the availability of materials and resources. Our frontline teams are working hard to meet demand but some repairs may take a little longer than expected to complete. We will keep you informed if your repair is delayed or the appointment has to be changed.
The My Onward portal is the quickest and easiest way to report a new repair. You can also report a repair by telephone through the Contact Centre on 0300 555 0600. We will provide further updates as the situation evolves.
Feeling vulnerable? Contact us.
Onward is here to support vulnerable customers, as we have been throughout COVID.
People defined as clinically extremely vulnerable must stay at home as much as possible and keep all contact with others to a minimum. We know that this makes life hard in lots of different ways. We can help by giving you someone to talk to and helping you get everyday essentials like food and support services.
We continue to provide essential services for our vulnerable customers to ensure their health and wellbeing and to prevent isolation. When this brings us into contact with you, we will follow our tried and tested safe systems of working and use all appropriate PPE.
If you are feeling vulnerable, contact us. If it is money worries, you need help getting food or if you are just feeling lonely – call us and we will do everything we can to help.
Money troubles? Contact us.
We want you to be secure in your home, even if money becomes harder in the weeks ahead. No customer will be evicted as a result of hardship caused by coronavirus, where they are working with us to get their payments back on track.
Onward will work with any customer struggling to pay rent to make this manageable in the long term. We offer one-to-one advice and support on topics including access to benefits and managing household budgets.
If you would like to speak to someone about your money, our Financial Inclusion team is here to help. Please contact us.