helengreen

MCP Property Services, our repairs and maintenance contractor, is advertising a number of apprenticeships. For further information, please see the attached flier.  The closing date for applications is Friday 19 March 2021.

Bucks Housing

We have had several reports from our residents of people coming to the door, saying that they have been sent by Bucks Housing to undertake repairs.  In one case, the resident was asked for payment upfront and told that they could reclaim the money back from Bucks Housing.  Fortunately, the resident was suspicious and checked with us and we were able to advise that this was not a genuine caller.  The matter has been reported to the Police.

Please be aware that we would never ask you to pay money direct to one of our contractors and you should not do this in any circumstance.

All of our staff, contractors and subcontractors carry ID and you should ask to see this if you do not know them personally.  If you are unsure, please telephone us on 01494 480340 (and select the Repairs option) to double check before allowing anyone into your home.  Genuine contractors will always be happy to wait until you are entirely satisfied that they are who they say they are.

Coronavirus scams

We are also aware that there has been an increase in scams by people taking advantage of the current pandemic, most recently in relation to vaccines.

The following advice has been produced by Action Fraud:

How to protect yourself:

Coronavirus vaccinations will only be available via the National Health Service.  You may be contacted by the NHS, your employer, a local GP surgery or pharmacy, to receive your vaccination.  Remember, the vaccinations are free of charge and you will not be asked for a payment.

The NHS will never:

• ask for your bank account or card details
• ask for your PIN or banking passwords
• arrive unannounced at your home to administer the vaccine
• ask for documentation to prove your identity, such as a passport or utility bills

If you receive a call you believe to be fraudulent (this includes calls with an automated message asking you to press # to speak to the Customer Services Team for example), hang up immediately.  If you are suspicious about an email you have received, forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk.  Suspicious text messages should be forwarded to the number 7726, which is free of charge.

If you believe you are the victim of a fraud, please report this to Action Fraud as soon as possible by calling 0300 123 2040 or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk.

Anyone who is worried about a lack of food or warmth over the Christmas holidays, can contact Buckinghamshire Council’s Helping Hand support line.

The helpline staff will be able to tell you what help may be available – either from the voluntary or community sectors or directly from the Council.

You can telephone 01296 531151 or email helpinghands@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

The line is open 9am – 5.30pm Monday to Thursday and 9am – 5pm on Friday. The support line is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Monday 28 December and New Year’s Day, but the Council’s out of hours team can be contacted in emergencies on 0800 999 7677.

Would you like to be at the centre of how Bucks Housing is run and its plans for the future?  Can you commit to attending six meetings a year (usually at our offices in Stokenchurch, but currently being held via Zoom)?

If so, why not apply to join our Board as a voluntary board member?

We will give you a proper induction, regular training opportunities and ongoing support so that you’re best placed to make the most effective contribution and so that you can get the most out of the experience too.

There is no payment for this voluntary role, but we do pay your reasonable expenses.

If you’re interested, please contact Helen Green on 01494 480340 or helen@bucksha.co.uk and we’ll send you further details.

The closing date for applications is Monday 4 January 2021.

Updated 12 November 2020

As we enter another lockdown, we thought we should recap on the services Bucks Housing is continuing to provide at the current time. Please be assured that we’re doing everything we can to provide as full and normal a service as we can, whilst limiting the risk of spreading the virus and protecting the well-being, health and safety of residents, contractors and staff.

Contacting us

Although our office in Stokenchurch remains closed, all our staff are set up to work fully from home. Please continue to use our usual phone number (01494 480340) and email address (info@bucksha.co.uk) to contact us.

Home visits

All non-urgent home visits remain suspended but please call us if you need urgent advice or assistance with any issue.

Our Repairs & Maintenance Service

As you will be aware, throughout the pandemic, we have been following the Government’s health and safety advice and, since 26 May, we have been operating a full repairs and maintenance service. Updated Government advice is that we can continue to provide a full repairs service if residents feel happy for us to do so.

As we have previously advised, we will not carry out any non-urgent repairs inside your property if you or any member of your household is isolating or shielding.  If this is the case, please call us to log your repair and to tell us when it will be safe for us to arrange to visit.  We can then make a note to check back with you nearer the time.  Any external repairs, such as guttering or fencing repairs, which can be carried out without the need to enter your home, will be attended to as normal.

Throughout the pandemic, we have continued with our programme of gas and electrical safety checks and would ask that you continue to provide access for these, and any other essential safety checks, to go ahead.

All of all our maintenance operatives are working in accordance with the Government’s latest advice on working safely during the Coronavirus outbreak.  This includes maintaining a safe distance (at least 2 metres) and using the appropriate PPE e.g. gloves.  In some cases, additional PPE will need to be worn, for example, if you or a household member are experiencing symptoms of the virus and you have an urgent or emergency repair which needs to be attended to.  As always, our maintenance contractors will arrange a convenient date with you for them to visit and will, on the day, notify you in advance what time they will be arriving.

We would ask you to help us to protect you, members of your household and our operatives by maintaining a safe distance (preferably by moving into a different room) to the one where the operative is working.  If our contractor does not feel the repair can be carried out safely, they will leave the property.  For everyone’s security, we would also ask you to remove any valuables from the room/s where our operatives are working unsupervised.

Finally, we would like to reassure you that whilst we are keen to ensure that all our residents receive a comprehensive repairs and maintenance service, we want to do this in a way which protects the safety and well-being of our customers, our staff and our maintenance operatives.  Should you have any concerns at all, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice.  You can contact us in the usual ways – by telephone (01494 480340) or via email (info@bucksha.co.uk).

Rent payments

We understand what a difficult time this is for our residents who may be facing financial hardship due to the worsening economic situation. If you’re having difficulty paying your rent, or you have any concerns about your ability to pay your rent during the current crisis, please contact us for advice – we’re here to help.

Older and vulnerable residents

Using information provided by residents themselves, we have identified those residents who we thought may appreciate a telephone call from staff and we have made contact accordingly – just to check how people are coping and to see whether there is any support we’re able to provide or arrange.

If you are struggling with anything and you think we may be able to help, or you just need to hear a friendly voice, please do get in touch with us. Our staff will happily try to help or should be able to point you in the direction of someone who can. We would also please ask you to keep an eye out for your neighbours during this difficult time, particularly older or vulnerable people. Should you have any concerns about their welfare, please let us know and we will try to contact them or alert other agencies to try to help.

Further information

We will continue to monitor the situation carefully and will provide any further service updates on this page, so please check back regularly. All the latest information, advice and facts about the Coronavirus are available on the gov.uk website .

Thank you

We are committed to providing excellent service to our residents and have reviewed our Customer Service Standards, taking account of the feedback we received in our recent Residents’ Survey.  You can read the new Service Standards here and details will be sent out to all residents in the next newsletter.

Please note, that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our office is currently closed and we are only able to arrange face to face meetings in emergency situations.  This means that, temporarily, we will be unable to meet several of the new standards, as highlighted.  We look forward to resuming a full service just as soon as we are able.  Updates will be provided in the Coronavirus section of the website.