Repairs FAQs

At what times am I able to contact you?

Our Customer Contact Centre is open 8.30am – 5pm, Monday – Friday and staff will be happy to deal with your call. You can call the Contact Centre on 0800 073 0417 or 020 7447 3100. Phone calls are answered by our emergency repairs service provider outside of these times but the telephone numbers that you should use are the same.

Please note that when you call outside of normal business hours, only emergencies can be dealt with and call operators have no access to your tenancy details. You can also report non-urgent repairs online, or by e-mailing repairs@circle.org.uk. Emergencies should always be reported by telephone.

How long will I have to wait for you to carry out my repair?

This depends on the actual repair in question. We have three different categories of repair. These are Emergency (24 hours), Urgent (7 days), and Routine (28 days). The category your repair falls under will be decided when you contact us.

An Emergency repair will be carried out within 24 hours of being reported.
An Emergency repair is raised if the reported fault threatens health, safety or security or could cause significant damage to a customer’s home (or adjoining property) if it is not tackled straight away. This includes but is not limited to:

• A water leak that cannot be contained
• Total loss of electrics or water (after checking with utility provider)
• Offensive or racist graffiti
• Fire damage & flooding
• Major structural damage
• Serious blockages to main drains or blocked WC if it is your only one
• Complete loss of heating where no temporary heating is available.

Please note that it may be appropriate for our emergency operatives to attend only to make the situation safe and we may have to return at a later date to complete a full repair. This will automatically be logged on our system and we will contact you to make an appointment.

An Urgent repair will be carried out within 7 calendar days of being reported.

An Urgent repair is raised if the fault is one that causes inconvenience, affects comfort, and which if left incomplete may cause damage to a customer’s home. This includes but is not limited to:

• Heating and hot water breakdowns (the contractor will always try to visit within 24 hours but if parts are required to complete the repair, a second visit may be needed which we will aim to do within 3 days)
• Minor leaks and blocked drains and pipes
• Faulty electrical fittings and minor electrical faults
• Leaking roofs.

A Routine repair will be carried out in 28 calendar days of being reported.
A Routine repair is raised if the fault causes inconvenience, but is not urgent and does not pose an immediate risk to health and safety. This includes but is not limited to:

• Repairs to external walls
• Repairs and replacement of individual kitchen units
• Replacement of door and window furniture (where there is no safety or security risk)
• Repairs to plasterwork
• Replacement of wall and floor tiles
• Minor plumbing works and tap replacements
• Repair and clearing of guttering and down pipes
• Minor roof repairs.

In some cases response times will be shortened to take account of our customers who are vulnerable or have specific needs, such as elderly or disabled residents, or those with very young children.

What kind of repairs will you carry out?

The type of repairs that we will carry out include repairs to:

• Heating and hot water
• Electrical wiring, sockets and light fittings
• Plumbing
• Roofs, outside walls, windows and doors
• Drains and gutters
• Kitchen units
• Baths, basins and toilets.

Some repairs are the tenant’s responsibility and the Repairs Team will not carry these repairs out: These repairs can include:

• Blocked sinks
• Damaged internal doors
• Broken glass (unless a crime has been committed)
• Accidental damage
• Blown light bulbs
• Decoration
• Upkeep of garden (unless a service charge is paid).

Who will carry out my repair?

Since March 2007 we have been working in partnership with Geoffrey Osborne to provide our day to day reactive repairs service. We work closely together in a shared office in Islington. You will be visited by one of their skilled operatives to complete your repair. We also have a specialist gas contractor, Village Heating, as well as lift and alarm engineers. Operatives should always show you ID before entering your home.

I have mice in my house. Can you come and lay poison/traps?

We generally do not carry out pest control for mice. The usual reason for mice in your property is because food is easily accessible to them. This could be due to easy access to rubbish bins or food in floor level cupboards. We recommend that you purchase mouse traps from your local hardware supplier, or B&Q, or Homebase.

My front entrance door is stiff and does not close properly. Will you replace it?

We will be happy to come out to repair your door, but we will not replace it. If you have recently had a carpet or new flooring fitted and that is what is causing the problem, we will not adjust your door to fit your flooring as that will be your responsibility.

Can you come and cut down/tidy the tree in my/my neighbour’s garden?

Tree works are costly and can often take a long time to resolve due to the need for the involvement of the local authority.

We will only carry out tree works in the following circumstances:

• Where there is a risk of the tree falling, or if it has fallen and has caused damage to property
• Where the tree is causing or likely to cause damage to the structure of a building
• Where we are ordered to by a local authority via an Environmental Health Office notice
• Where the tree is causing significant loss of light to a property.

My hot/cold tap on my bath is faulty. Will you replace them with a mixer tap?

We only fix/replace items on a like for like basis, meaning that we will only replace your existing tap with a similar one.

Will you redecorate inside my home?

Decoration within your home is your responsibility. We will repair any damage caused to decorations as a result of a repair that we have carried out, but please remember that it will only be a patch repair and that colour and finish matches cannot be guaranteed.

I can smell gas, what should I do?

What you should NOT do is smoke or turn on any electrical item (including mobile phones). Open all windows and doors and if you know where your gas supply valve is, switch it off. Immediately call Transco on 0800 111 999 and our Customer Contact Centre on 0800 073 0417 or 020 7447 3100.

I think my home is damp, there is black mould on the walls / windows

Black mould usually indicates the presence of high levels of condensation. If the problem mainly affects the bathroom, and / or the kitchen and / or any north facing outside wall there are a number of things that you can do to reduce the problem.

• Keep your home ventilated by opening windows slightly or ensuring that vents are left open, even in winter months periodically
• Maintain a constant temperature in your home by regulating your central heating to about 19c throughout the day
• Open windows during and after bathing / showering and cooking
• Where possible, try and dry your washing outdoors rather than in your home.

If these taking these measures does not resolve the problem or if the problem worsens, call our Customer Contact Centre and request an inspection of your home.

There is a leak from the flat above me. What do I do?

• Before calling the repairs line, please knock on your neighbour’s door to see if they are in. If you are able to, let them know of the problem and see if they can identify where it is coming from
• When you call our repairs line, please give as much information as possible so that the problem can be tackled quickly
• Move your belongings somewhere safe and dry if possible as we cannot replace them if they get damaged
• If there is water near any electrical fitting (lights, sockets etc) do not switch them on until someone has visited and confirmed it is safe to do so.

Last modified 06/04/11