Gateway celebrates StAr awards!

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Winter 2012
Gateway celebrates STAR awards!
Welcome to our special
winter edition of Open
Door. This is the last Open
Door of 2012 and Board
members and Staff at
Gateway would like to take
this opportunity to wish all
our residents, their families
and friends a Very Happy
Christmas and Best Wishes
for the New Year.
Christmas and New
Year Opening Times
Office Opening Times
Our office at 409-413
Mile End Road, London
E3 4PB, will have normal
opening times except it
will be closed on 24, 25
and 26 December 2012
and 1 January 2013.
Our emergency
maintenance service will
operate at all times while
the office is closed,
please call 0800 085 6064
if you have an emergency.
Gateway residents took part in the third
annual STAR in the Community Awards
ceremony, which this year took place on
26 November 2012 at the London
Marriott Hotel in West India Quay.
The awards continue to grow and this
year we had eleven organisations which
took part. Gateway in partnership with
Eastendhomes, Newlon, Old Ford, One
Housing, Poplar Harca, Providence Row,
Spitalfields, Swan, Tower Hamlets
Community Housing and Tower
Hamlets Homes.
The event recognised and celebrated
the fantastic contributions of residents
in Tower Hamlets, both in their local
communities and wider neighbourhood
and was attended by The Member of
Parliament Jim Fitzpatrick, Lead member
for Housing Councillor Rabina Khan, the
Young Mayor of Tower Hamlets
Nahimul Islam and was hosted by David
Orr, Chief Executive of the National
Housing Federation.
Gateway is proud to announce our
winner for this year.
Muna Mohamed won the prestigious
Gateway Inspirational Resident of the
Year award for 2012 and follows in the
footsteps of previous winners Sue Izzet
(2010) and Dave Stackable (2011). We
would like to congratulate Muna, who
also becomes our first resident to win
an award twice having won the ‘Bringing
communities together award in 2010.
Inspirational Resident of the year
The inspirational resident of the year
award winner Muna who is from
Holmsdale House in Poplar.
Mandy Curtain who nominated Muna
for the Inspirational award said she
believes that Muna is a real inspiration
to the community with her enthusiasm,
energy and dedication:
“Muna is a deserving winner of
Gateway’s inspirational resident as she
has helped make her community a
success, by ensuring that people talk
and get on. Muna is someone who
always encourages people to do
positive things for the community and
this is something that has helped
improve the community spirit”
Muna said “I am grateful for receiving
the award and feel this is an award for
everyone at Constant & Holmsdale, I
am really proud to say we live here and
have a wonderful community”.
All sheltered housing
schemes will be covered
by the emergency call
system provided by Care
Alarm when your scheme
manager is not on duty.
Inside this issue • Gateway celebrates Black History Month • Residents’ fair
2012 feedback • Tenants & Residents Associations • Djing workshop starts! •
Comfort & Help for Ex Servicemen • Leasehold Service Charge Consultations
• Tenancy Strategy Policy • Stop Loan Sharks • and much more...
2
Open Door
Welcome • News
Message
from the
Chief
Executive
On behalf of the Gateway Board,
Senior Management Team and staff
I would like to wish you a peaceful,
happy and prosperous festive season.
It is the season of good cheer, if
we ignore that it is freezing
outside, so I would like to share
with you some of my highlights of
the year and further planned
developments in the year ahead.
I was really pleased to start the year
with the launch of Academy 4
Housing. Academy 4 Housing is a
social enterprise set up to provide
training and apprenticeship
programmes. Gateway joined with
three other housing associations as
an investment partner to set it up.
In less than a year it has become the
second largest provider of Chartered
Institute for Housing accredited
learning and we have launched an
apprenticeship programme. All four
of the apprentices that Gateway has
appointed are local young people
including one person who is the
daughter of a Gateway resident.
During 2013 we plan to develop
more training opportunities for
residents to support them to achieve
qualifications if they wish to do so.
The Resident Scrutiny Panel has been
doing a fantastic job. During the year
they undertook a review of our
complaints and service charge
processes. Their approach included
interviewing key staff, sending out
a questionnaire to a cross section
of residents, holding a focus group
with residents, mystery shopping,
workplace observation, and
reviewing key documents. This
approach enabled them to come up
with very precise recommendations
that will assist us to achieve best
practice in these service areas. In the
year ahead we need to implement
the recommendations and I look
forward to their review of repairs
and maintenance.
In March we started a research project
to help us to better understand the
types of accommodation older people
would want us to develop in the
future. A key consideration is that
there is no leasehold accommodation
in the borough for people who wanted
to move but retain some equity in
their home. We have completed the
research which we plan to launch in
January 2013 and it has helped us to
plan our designs, services, and tenure
types going forward.
A key project for 2013 is the review of
repairs and maintenance. Our contract
with Morrisons comes to an end in
May 2013 and we are about to start
the process of appointing contractors.
If you would like further information
on any of these projects please
contact Mo Ali - Resident
Involvement Manager at
[email protected].
Happy Holidays and all the best for
the year ahead
Sheron Carter
Chief Executive
Gateway celebrates ‘Memorable’ Black History Month
This years Black History
Month event on 29
October 2012 was our
most memorable yet and
we would like to say a big
thanks to all our residents
that supported the event.
We received excellent feedback from residents that
attended. Of those residents that completed the
feedback questionnaire, 100% stated that they thought
the event was excellent or good and a high 86% stated
that that they feel the event has helped to promote a
better understanding and respect between different
groups within the community.
Black History month is
about recognising the
contributions of African,
Asian and Caribbean
people to the economic,
cultural and political life
in London and the UK.
Since 1987 as part of
African Jubilee Year, other boroughs began to formally
institute this as Black History Month in the UK.
Among the comments we received were:
•Today’s event was wonderful it was lovely to see so
many staff and residents together.
•It was a very enjoyable event, everyone was
welcoming and kind,
•Excellent event, well received and great
atmosphere, well done to all.
•The poet was fantastic and the food was amazing
very enjoyable event.
•The venue was perfect the right amount of
intimacy for the numbers. Thank you Gateway.
With the help of traditional African dancers, courtesy of
Afrik Entertainment and inspirational poetry from a young
poet ‘Suli Breaks‘, we took our celebration at Gateway to
another level. Live music was provided by Neo Mzimba a
professional Jazz Guitarist and Kay Cargill provided an arts
exhibition of African artwork. No celebration of Black
History would be complete without traditional Caribbean
cuisine. Residents and staff were treated to the finest
Carribean dishes, prepared by Jeanette Cowie and Joyce
Ahwieh, past and present Scheme Managers.
We would like to thank all our residents for
supporting the event.
Customer services: 020 8709 4300 • Maintenance freephone: 0800 052 9922
Winter 2012
Resident involvement
A day to remember! Residents’ fair 2012
Tenants & Residents
Associations –
Making a difference
We would like to say a
big THANKS to all our
residents who came to
our residents’ fair on
Saturday 13 October at
Central Foundation Girls
School and a special
thanks to our resident
volunteers who ensured
the day was a big
success, with a fantastic 87.5% of residents
thinking the day was excellent/good.
The event proved to be a huge success
with over 130 Gateway residents
attending, from our diverse communities.
The day had a variety of stalls and
activities for young and old alike,
including, children’s entertainer, DIY
Workshop, outdoor sports, T-shirt
designs, nail art workshop, line dancing,
arts exhibition, jewellery making and DJ
Workshops, with the highlight a superb
music performance by local singer Haifa
Jordan, which went down really well.
“This year we tried something a little
different to reach out to our younger
residents with a range of activities. We
want to thank everyone that supported
us and are pleased that most residents
had an enjoyable day.” Mo Ali, Resident
Involvement Manager added
“We would like to thank all the partners
that supported the event, but most of all
thank our residents and volunteers that
came and ensured the day was a success
and Sandra Rodney–Resident Involvement
Officer who co-ordinated the event”.
Gateway would like to thank the
following organisations for supporting
the event;
London Urban Arts Academy, Newark
Youth London, G4S Security, Blue Moon
Community Arts, Common Ground East
London Mediation, Employment First, Fair
Finance, Limehouse Project, Metropolitan
Police, Morrison Facilities Service,
Safer Neighbourhood Team, Topcoat
Construction Ltd, Tower Hamlets Recycling
and Central Foundation Girls School.
Interactive voting - What you told us
Residents told us what they thought were
the most important priorities for us to be
focussing on over the coming year, with
repairs continuing to be the top priority.
Please note that this is a snapshot of 60
residents views and cannot be considered
as statistically valid. If you would like to
receive a copy of the findings please
contact the RI Team.
Do you want to get
involved locally?
Do you want to make a
difference?
At Gateway we support
our residents setting up
Tenants & Residents
Associations (TRA), which
is an excellent way of
getting involved locally
and making a difference.
Summary of key findings
Which areas do you think we should
prioritise during the coming year?
1Anti-social Behaviour - Improve how
we deal with ASB. (17.8%)
2 Communication - Improve how we
communicate with you. (13.3%)
3 Complaints - Improve how we handle
complaints. (8.9%)
4 Customer care - Improve our customer
care. (11.1%)
5 Repairs and Maintenance - Improve
our repairs service. (48.9%)
1
2
3
4
5
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Improving our repairs service clearly came
out on top with just under a half (48.9%),
followed by improve how we deal with ASB
(17.8%) and improving communication (13.3%)
Satisfaction with overall services
provided by Gateway.
1 Very satisfied. (29.4%)
2 Fairly satisfied. (27.5%)
3 Niether satisfied or dissatisfied. (29.4%)
4 Fairly dissatisfied. (7.8%)
5 Very dissatisfied. (5.9%)
1
2
3
4
5
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Over half (56.9%) stated they are very/
fairly satisfied with overall services,
interestingly the very/fairly dissatisfied
has fallen slightly to 13.7%. There was a
relatively high 29.4% who were neither
satisfied or dissatisfied.
Our residents at Lennox
House in Hackney have
done exactly that and set
up a Residents Association
which is currently
overseeing works,
particularly the window
replacement program.
Christine Lungu, Chair of
the TRA feels having a
Residents Association has
made a huge difference at
Lennox House.
“We have only been going
for a year now and in that
short time we have ensured
that Lennox House has
remained high on the
agenda. We have
collectively raised issues
that would have been
difficult to raise individually
and our TRA is beginning to
make a difference now.
Without the TRA I believe
we wouldn’t have got to
where we are now. I would
recommend all residents
should consider setting up a
residents group.”
So, if you are interested in
setting up a TRA /
Residents Group for your
area or would like to find
out more, please contact
the Resident Involvement
Team on 020 8709 4381 or
email involvement@
gatewayhousing.org.uk.
Thank you to everyone who took part
in the interactive voting.
Website: www.gatewayhousing.org.uk • Email: [email protected]
3
4
Open Door
Young peoples section
Djing workshop starts!
From Wednesday 9 January 2013, every
Wednesdays for 6 weeks we will be
running a series of exciting DJing music
workshops at our newly refurbished
community space at 65 Huddleston
Close from 7pm to 9pm
This is in partnership with London
Urban Arts Academy (LUAA) who will
be hosting the interactive sessions.
As well as a Djing course, we will be
having a positive lyric writing course
which is open to any interested young
resident.
So if YOU are interested in DJing or
other music/arts activities please let
us know and get involved.
Email involvement@gatewayhousing.
org.uk or phone Sandra or Mo on
020 8709 4381.
Bench dedicated in
memory of Shipon
Central Ocean Residents’
Association (CORA) dedicated
a bench in memory of Shipon
Ahmed, who tragically
drowned while on holiday in
Bangladesh last year.
CORA were so moved by the
tragedy that they got
donations from local residents
and Gateway HA to fund the
bench, which was unveiled at
an emotional ceremony by
Shipon’s brothers and father.
Hasan Ahmed, Kalon Miah and
Belal Ahmed
Volunteers at Grove Dwellings
In September 2012 Grove Dwellings in Adelina Grove had
corporate volunteers from State Street and Play Association
Tower Hamlets (PATH) who spent the day volunteering,
working on painting the Community Room and building a
sandpit and other outdoor play activities.
They worked hard, and displayed some excellent painting and
decorating skills. The day was a great success, as soon as the
children got home from school, they discovered the sandpit
and other equipment and dived straight in. The residents,
adults and children alike gave the work a big thumbs up.
Now that the room is in good shape we are planning on
bringing it into community use.
The volunteers did a fantastic job, so on behalf of Gateway
and our residents’ we would like to say a big THANK YOU
to all the State Street and PATH staff for the time they
spent at Grove Dwellings.
Customer services: 020 8709 4300 • Maintenance freephone: 0800 052 9922
Winter 2012
Senior section
Our Sheltered schemes have
clearly been busy over the last
few months with a number of
activities taking place.
Regency Court daytrip to Hastings
Regency Court residents had a
fantastic day trip to Hastings, which
took place on 12 October 2012.
Sue Flemming – Scheme Manager
was pleased for the residents at
Regency Court, who had a
wonderful day out, particularly as
the weather was fantastic too.
Appian Court visits Docklands
Museum
On 16th October 2012, five Appian
Court residents went on a trip on
the DLR to the Museum in
Docklands. The trip was facilitated
by Serco through its community
engagement initiative the DLR
community ambassadors.
The trip showcased the increased
level of accessibility across the
DLR network since the completion
of the DLR upgrade early this year.
The trip took 4 hours starting at
Bow Church station to West India
Quay station for a tour or the
Museum in Docklands and then
back to Bow Church station.
Roger Bardet the Appian Court
TIG Chairman thanked the DLR for
their community outreach
initiative and was also grateful to
Prêt a Manger Foundation that
provided lunch to the residents
upon returning from the trip.
Sheltered Housing Forum
The Sheltered Housing Forum has
decided to reconvene its AGM
originally scheduled for November
and would welcome all sheltered
residents attending.
Wednesday 30th January 2013
Annual General Meeting,
12noon at Gateway Office,
409-413 Mile End Road, E3 4PB.
At the AGM we will elect our new
committee for 2013.
We will have a surgery
for individual repairs and
maintenance from 11.30am.
Please come along and support
the Sheltered Housing Forum.
If you want to find out more
about the Sheltered Housing
Forum, attend a meeting or want
assistance with transport, please
contact the Resident Involvement
Team on 020 8709 4381.
Coming soon - Sheltered Housing Opens Doors
In March ‘13, Gateway will be
opening its doors for you to come
and take a look at the excellent
services that we provide for older
people in our sheltered schemes.
There will be an opportunity to
speak to our staff and residents
about life with Gateway and get a
first glimpse of the exciting
developments that Gateway will
be completing for older people in
the coming years.
The open days will start at 11am
and finish at 2pm and will be at:
•Vic Johnson House (E3 2HT)
on Wednesday 6 March
•Ted Roberts House (E2 9NH)
on Thursday 14 March
• John Tucker House (E14 8NS)
on Friday 15 March
We will be sending more
information nearer the time but
please put the date in your diary
for now; it will be great to see you.
Comfort & Help
for Ex Servicemen
After the superb support I
received I feel compelled to put
pen to paper after one of my
tenants who sadly lost their fight
with cancer in November 2012.
My tenant didn’t have any next
of kin and I felt that it would
not be right for him to have
“The 9 O’clock Trot” funeral. So
with this in mind and knowing
that he was an ex-serviceman
having given 22 years service to
the Royal artillery reaching
Sergeant Major I contacted
“SSAFA” (the Soldiers, Sailors,
Airmen & Families Association).
I spoke to a gentleman Dean
who is himself an ex serviceman
who volunteers for SSAFA a
couple of days a week. Dean
kindly agreed with me and was
keen to help.
All I needed to do was provide
proof of service in the forces
and Dean went to work on
raising funds for the funeral; he
also put me in touch with
another great organisation
called ‘Down to Earth’ which is
run by volunteers that are
trained to give practical and
emotional support during the
funeral planning period.
Thanks to ‘SSAFA’ and ‘Down to
Earth’ we managed to raise the
funds for the funeral and get
everything organised in quick
time. They made several calls on
my behalf and were a great help
during this difficult period.
• SSAFA – A national charity
helping serving & ex-service men,
women and their families in need.
www.ssafa.org.uk / 020 7403 8783
• Down to Earth – supports
bereaved people in financial
need to plan affordable,
meaningful funerals.
www.quakersocialaction.com
020 8983 5055
Nicky
Scheme Manager St Johns House
Website: www.gatewayhousing.org.uk • Email: [email protected]
5
6
Open Door
Leasehold news
Leaseholders Forum
Date:Thursday 21 March 2013
Time: 18:30 to 20:30
Venue:Gateway Office
409-413 Mile End Road
We are pleased to announce that Gateway
will host the Leaseholders Forum and if
you are interested in being part of this
group of leaseholders and shared owners
please let us know.
The Forum has already done some splendid
work in influencing the service that Gateway
provides and as residents you are in the best
position to say where improvements need
to be made. This is an opportunity for you
to give your thoughts and opinions on our
strategy and action plans.
An agenda will be prepared and sent out
nearer the time and if there is anything that
you would like to include please let us know.
This will be the first meeting for a while and
we will need to deal with nominations and
election of the Chair and vice chair during
the first part of the meeting.
If you would like to discuss being involved
please contact the leasehold team on any
of the email addresses on this page or
Mo Ali Resident Involvement Manager on
020 8709 4381.
Leasehold Services
contact information
Shopna Rob
Leasehold Services Officer
020 8709 4355
[email protected]
Ales Miah
Development and Leasehold apprentice
020 8709 4352
[email protected]
Steve Patching
Leasehold and Marketing Manager
020 8709 4302
[email protected]
Rent and service charge account
enquiries: Shiraj Miah
Senior Income Recovery Officer
020 8709 4300
[email protected]
Communal Repairs: Customer Services
– Property Services team
020 8709 4300
Freephone 0800 052 9922
customerservicespropertyservices@
gatewayhousing.org.uk
Leasehold Service Charge Consultations
Gateway welcomes and encourages the involvement of our residents
in the setting of the service charge budgets for the coming year.
We will be sending out the draft budgets in December for your initial
information and then invite your comments either through the
arranged meeting on the set dates shown below or if you are unable
to attend the meeting then you can contact the leasehold team at
any time to discuss any aspect of the proposed budget.
Below is a timetable of the scheduled consultation dates.
If you would like to be involved please contact Shopna Rob on
020 8709 4355 to register your attendance.
SERVICES AND SERVICE CHARGE CONSULTATION MEETINGS 2013
All meetings will be held at Gateway Office
Scheme
Ashbee House
Hackney Road
Inigo Jones House
Roger Dowley Court
David Hewitt House
Grace Street (Vera Ct
& Charis Hse)
Hearnshaw Street
Elizabeth Blount Court
Emerald Court
Bookbinders Court
Viaduct Street (Ducere
House)
Huddleston Close (1-12)
Percy Harris House
Victoria Court
Kay Street
Tilburg House
17 Coldharbour
Devonshire Court
Masters Street
Peridot Court
Reeves Road
Menai Place (flat 1 & 2 )
2A Birchfield Street
Maroon Street (60-70)
Bromley High Street
Ferry Street (70)
Tequila Wharf
Firewatch Court
Day
Date
Time
9 January
2013
10 January
2013
6.00pm
7.30pm
6.00pm
7.30pm
11 January
2013
6.00pm
7.30pm
23 January
2013
24 January
2013
6.00pm
7.30pm
6.00pm
7.30pm
Friday
25 January
2013
To be
confirmed
Monday
28 January
2013
To be
confirmed
Tuesday
29 January
2013
To be
confirmed
Wednesday
30 January
2013
To be
confirmed
Thursday
31 January
2013
To be
confirmed
1 February
2013
14 February
2013
15 February
2012
To be
confirmed
To be
confirmed
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Friday
1, 2 and 3 Bedroom
apartments in
Bethnal Green
Bookbinders Court,
Cudworth Street, E1 5QU.
Customer services: 020 8709 4300 • Maintenance freephone: 0800 052 9922
6.00pm
Winter 2012
Advice and information
Scrutiny Panel Making a Difference
The Scrutiny Panel has recently
completed its first two scrutiny projects
by successfully carrying out the scrutiny
of ‘Service Charges’ and ‘Complaints’.
Service Charges.Here the Scrutiny
Panel made 12 recommendations, with
six fully accepted and the other six
partially accepted.
Two project teams were set up with
Lolita Muhammad, Andre Jeoffroy and
Shahi Alom coordinating the ‘Complaints’
Scrutiny Project and Ian Marks, Muna
Mohamed and Pauline Canning
coordinating the ‘Service charge’ scrutiny.
The key recommendation here was to
provide General Needs tenants the
same quality of consultation as that
offered to Leaseholders and Sheltered
Tenants and to improve the general
quality of statements and information
provided.
The scrutiny panel were supported
throughout the process by the
Independent Mentor ‘Sheila Adamson’
and the Resident Involvement Team.
The scrutiny panel used a range of
methods to carry out the scrutiny
project including, interviewing staff,
holding a residents focus group, carrying
out a survey, mystery shopping,
observing the customer Services team
and desk top research.
The Scrutiny Panel have produced
recommendations which have been
presented to Gateway’s Senior
Management Team and The Board.
Summary of key recommendations
Improving Services. Gateway have
taken on board the recommendations
from the Scrutiny Panel for Complaints
and Service Charges and will be using
these to improve services.
Future Scrutiny projects
The Scrutiny Panel also carried out it’s
annual review and has decided to focus
on Repairs and Maintenance and
Resident Involvement as its two main
projects for 2013... Watch this space!
Capturing informal complaints and
closure of complaints were identified as
the two key areas to focus on.
?
At a recent meeting one
of our residents enquired
why we are spending so
much money on glossy
newsletters, instead of
using ordinary paper.
Actually… having sought
prices, the paper used for
this newsletter is actually
cheaper than non-gloss
paper. So if you are one of
our residents wondering
about the cost of this
newspaper, we have
reduced the costs by over
50% in the last two years.
‘How can we make a
difference to Gateway
Communities?’
Tuesday 19 February
2013, 6pm at
409-413 Mile End Road
Gateway Offices
If you would like a copy of the full
recommendations, please contact
Mo Ali – Resident Involvement
Manager on 020 8709 4381
Complaints. The Scrutiny Panel made
14 recommendations, of which 10 were
fully accepted by Gateway and 3
partially accepted.
Did you know?
Tenants Forum
A voice for
Gateway
Tenants
Tenancy Strategy Policy
– We want your views
We are currently drawing up our new Tenancy Policy
and want your views on the draft Policy.
•All social landlords are required to develop a
tenancy policy.
•The policy should have ‘due regard’ for Local
Authority Tenancy Strategies in the areas the social
landlord operates – Hackney, Newham and Tower
Hamlets for Gateway.
You can see a copy of our draft Tenancy Policy on
our website www.gatewayhousing.org.uk and at
our reception.
If you do want to make any comments please email
[email protected] by 5pm Friday 11
January 2013.
The Tenants Forum
wants YOU to come and
tell US, how Tenants can
make a difference to
Gateways Communities.
So if you are one of those
tenants that have never
been to a Gateway
meeting before, this might
be the one to attend!
We are looking for more
tenants to get involved
with the Forum,
particularly new faces
and representatives from
our Tenants and
Residents Associations.
If you would like to find
out more about the
Tenants’ Forum or would
like to get involved,
please contact the
Resident Involvement
Team, Mo or Sandra on
020 8709 4381 or email
involvement@
gatewayhousing.org.uk
Get involved and make
a difference.
Website: www.gatewayhousing.org.uk • Email: [email protected]
7
8
Open Door
Advice and information
Tenant Moving-on Scheme – Is your home too big for you?
Perhaps your children have grown up
and left home, or you might want to
move to a different area; maybe you
just want to enjoy some extra money.
Whatever your reason for moving,
if you have two or more bedrooms
and you want to transfer to smaller
property through Choice Based
Letting you will qualify for a cash
incentive.
The benefits of the scheme are:
•£500 for each bedroom that we
gain by you moving home;
Stop Loan Sharks
We appreciate that times are tough at
the moment for everyone and with
Christmas just around the corner it
is also a very expensive time of year.
•£1,500 to cover disturbance costs,
such as: disconnection and
reconnections charges, packing if
over 60 years old, adapting or
purchasing and fitting carpets and
curtains and
•priority when bidding for a new
home through Choice Based
Lettings.
If you are a tenant but have rent
arrears we may still be able to help
you by deducting your arrears from
any lump sum payment.
Who is eligible for help?
If you are interested get in touch
quickly as funds are limited.
You need to be a Gateway tenant
living in a 2, 3, 4, or 5 bedroom
house or flat.
•Take items as security- this may
include passports, bank cards or
driving licences.
•Resort to intimidation, threats or
violence to get their money back
You would need to discuss your
situation with your housing officer.
Mutual exchange moves are
excluded from this scheme.
Please contact your housing officer, who
will be available to help and advise you.
Don’t get in with a Loan Shark…
It will cost you an arm and a leg!
For more information visit
www.direct.gov.uk/stoploansharks
Whatever you do, please don’t make
your financial situation worse, by
taking out a loan from a loan shark!
Typically a loan shark...
•Starts out being friendly - they
are often heard of via friends.
It is only when repayments are
missed their behaviour changes.
•Offer little or no paperwork.
•Increase the debt or add
additional amounts.
•Refuse to tell the borrower the
interest rate, how much they still
owe or how long they will be
paying back. (We have seen APR
as high as 131,000%)
Gateway Housing Association, 409-413 Mile End Road, London E3 4PB.
Customer services: 020 8709 4300 • Maintenance freephone: 0800 052 9922
Email [email protected] • Website www.gatewayhousing.org.uk
Opendoor
Winter 2012