News and Views Summer 2010 - Riverside

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NEWS AND VIEWS SUMMER 2010 PAGE 4 Are you covered? A step in the right Have you ever thought what you would do if your home was burgled, caught fire or flooded? Riverside doesn’t insure your furniture and belongings, so if you don’t have your own policy then your possessions are at risk. Our new tenants’ home contents insurance scheme with Royal & Sun Alliance offers very low premiums, and special premiums for tenants who are aged 60 or over, or living in sheltered or supported accommodation. If you aren’t already insured, pick up a prospectus and application form from your local housing office or call the Customer Service Centre on Tel: 0845 111 0000 or on Tel: 0345 111 0000. Or call the Home Contents Insurance Team direct on Tel: 0151 285 1384 for advice and an information pack. You can either send in your completed form or call Royal & Sun Alliance on Tel: 08456 718172 to apply for cover. Our new insurance scheme offers: • peace of mind at an affordable price • cover that’s easy to understand • the option to claim by phone • new-for-old cover (except for clothing and linen) • no excess – you don’t have to pay the first part of any claim • lots of ways to pay and no bank account needed – premium payment options are weekly, fortnightly, monthly, annually • cover against fire, theft, vandalism, storm, flood and burst pipes • cover available for accidental damage and belongings outside your home. No additional home security is required and all postcode areas are covered. Riverside is making a fresh start after launching its new strengthened repairs and maintenance service, provided by new partners Mears Ltd. Many of you have been involved in the tendering selection process – from visiting other service providers to choosing Mears as the preferred contractor. The new contract will run for five years with the option to extend for a further five years based on performance. You’ll still see some of the same friendly faces as employees from Wilmot Dixon Sustain, our previous contractor, have become employed by Mears and are based at their main office in Newton Aycliffe. Why the fresh start? The decision supports the Audit Commission’s recommendation in March 2008 to market test our current service and secure best value for both Riverside and you. So, what does this mean to you? You’ll be pleased to hear there will be no disruption to the service you receive. You can still report repairs in the same way: • by calling us on Tel: 0845 1110000 or on Tel: 0345 111 0000. Here come the men in red From now on repairs and maintenance operatives will: Service charges Riverside is carrying out a project to review its service charges across the group and is inviting tenants to tell us what they think of the services they receive from the current system. Charges are passed on to tenants when we provide services including the cleaning of communal areas like halls and stairs, window cleaning and gardening. Not all properties need the same services so the cost differs, depending on where you live. We pay for work to be done and pass on the cost to tenants. At the start of each year, we estimate how much we think these services will cost throughout the year and split the cost equally between all those who receive the service. At the end of the year we RNE Summer 2009-8pp-A4.indd 5 14/07/2010 16:36
ht direction Beating bullying by the book PAGE 5 Our new contractors will soon be a familiar sight • be wearing red uniforms that have the Mears logo on them. • be arriving in a vehicle marked as Mears working in partnership with Riverside • still carry an ID badge, which they will show you. If you are in doubt about the caller or you would like to check their identification then call us on Tel: 0845 111 0000 or on Tel: 0345 111 0000 before letting them into your home. Genuine callers will never mind waiting while you check their identity. Remember, don’t let anyone in to your home unless you have seen their ID badge. If in doubt keep them out. look at how much the services actually cost and identify any over or under-recoveries, which are then passed on to the tenants. The review is focusing on key areas, including the quality and type of services provided and the processes in place to assist in the management of service charges. If you would like to comment on service charges, write to us at Freepost Plus RRHG-HXRT-AKSR, Riverside, Quality & Performance, 2 Estuary Boulevard, Speke, Liverpool, L24 8RF. All responses will be entered into a prize draw for the chance to win £25 in high street shopping vouchers. Children at a Newcastle school are focussing on making the right choices about their future, thanks to a book sponsored by Riverside. Working in partnership with the Children’s Safety Education Foundation, Riverside paid £540 towards 60 books called RESPECT! Your Life, Your Choice for the Excelsior Academy’s PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) curriculum. Children aged 12 to14 are learning from the book’s real life situations to examine various Excelsior’s Michelle Malone with students Jade Jacques and Georgia Hendry, and Carolyn Hewitt from Riverside, Maria Anderson and Kirsty Williams from Benwell Neighbourhood Initiative and Deon Krishnan from the Excelsior Academy citizenship issues. It covers topics from antisocial behaviour, racial harassment and bullying to alcohol, drugs and solvent misuse. Riverside’s Head of Community Engagement Carolyn Hewitt said: “We are committed to making our neighbourhoods safer. “By raising awareness of the consequences of young people’s behaviour on their community and equipping them with the right information, we are encouraging them to make decisions for themselves which impact on their community in a positive way.” RNE Summer 2009-8pp-A4.indd 6 14/07/2010 16:36
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