Housing tenants get text reminders

Link: Housing Excellence – Text messaging service for Haringey repairs#

17,000 housing tenants in Haringey, London now have the option of receiving repair appointment confirmations by SMS.

The service, called ‘C u l8er Repair Service’, aims to reduce missed appointments by not only immediately confirming a booking, but also sending a follow-up reminder message 24 hours before the contractor is due to visit. The service will also provide details of a changed appointment.

According to Homes for Haringey, around 4,000 appointments are missed annually, at a cost of around £80k to the organisation. They are aiming to reduce this by at least 25% within the next year using SMS.

Mike Jones, chair, Homes for Haringey said:  “We’re always listening to our tenants. This free reminder service is the result of tenant feedback which highlighted the need to confirm when contractors are actually arriving to do their repairs.”