Service issues.......If you have a problem within your property, here are some hints that you should check first. Please be aware that cleaning, bulbs, fuses, washing machine filters, dish washer filters, window cleaning, drains blocked internally etc are the tenants responsibility and you should try and resolve such issues yourself first.

iSite Office Hours:

Office Address:

9am - 5pm-Tues, Fri

25 Bold Street

9am - 6pm-Mon,Wed,Thur

off Palmyra Square

10am - 3pm-Sat

Warrington

Closed-Sunday & Public Holidays

WA1 1HQ

Common new tenant fault reports:

When you first move in, please familiarise yourself with the locations for....

How / where to turn the gas off

How / where to turn the water off

How / where to turn the electric off

If you are reporting an issue, generally as much information about the fault that can be gained the better. If you report a door broken for example, in what way is it broken, how did it happen etc??

For White goods such as washing machines etc

Make, Model and Serial numbers will always help.

Service Department Hours:

The service department opens Monday - Friday 9am-5pm and will deal with any service issues within these hours.

Out of Hours:

We do not offer an out of hours response service.  Should you have a service issue, you must read through the following list and if these do not answer your questions, complete the form below. This will be received by our Service department the following working day.

Fire:

Your first action should be to vacate the property and call the fire brigade 999.

Call your insurance company and they will advise you of what emergency measures you can take for re housing etc.

You should also call our office and leave a message with your property address, contact details and description of the problem.

iSite nor your landlord are liable to pay for re housing costs. This cost will be to your insurance company or at your own expense.

Burglary:

Your first action should be to call the police 999.

Inform your insurance company who will advise you what to do next regarding emergency repairs etc.

Call our office and leave a message with your property address, contact details and description of the problem.

iSite nor your landlord are liable to pay for re housing costs. This cost will be to your insurance company or at your own expense.

Lost Key:

Your first action should be to call the office and leave a message with your property address, contact details and description of the problem.

If you have lost your key in office hours you can call at the office and we will provide a replacement for a set fee of £15 for a standard key, however some keys are special order and can be considerably more expensive. You must come to the office with photo ID to collect a key and must make arrangements beforehand.

Out of office hours you can call a lock smith and we recommend Jon Smith 07969 881 607. You will receive iSite discount but the costs are your own and will probably require lock replacement usually at a costs of at least £75.

Your insurance may cover this cost.

Lock Fail:

Your first action should be to call the office and leave a message with your property address, contact details and description of the problem.

If the lock fails (your key does not work in it) in office hours we can send an engineer / lock smith.

Out of office hours you can call our lock smith, Jon Smith 07969 881 607 and he will attend and change the lock for you.

The cost for this should be covered on your tenants insurance.

Electrical Emergency:

If the electrical fault is with an appliance, unplug it if it is safe to do so. If not switch off the supply to the sockets at the main fuse board.

If the fault is with an appliance NOT provided by the landlord, then it is your own responsibility and cost to resolve the issue.

If the fault is with an appliance provided by the landlord, call the office and leave a message with your property address, contact details and description of the problem.

We will have an electrician attend as soon as possible, usually the next day.

If you decide to call your own engineer iSite will not be liable for the costs.

Noisy Neighbors:

Problem and noisy neighbors should be reported to environmental health at the local council and they will help you with a formal complaint procedure etc.

You may also wish to inform the building management company whos details can usually be found in the lobby of the building or in the list below.

You should also approach the neighbor yourself and request that they respect your right to reasonable and quiet enjoyment.

If the noise or annoyance is excessive you may wish to call the police or environmental health department of the council.

There is very little that your landlord or iSite can do with regards to problem neighbors but you should inform us in any event and we will issue a warning letter to them and may take further action if we are the managing agent of the problem property.

Bathroom Extractor Fan:

Extractor fan in bathroom not working - There is usually a switch above the bathroom door. Check it is switched on and the light is switched on. Some apartments have communal extractor fans which are on all the time just not as powerfully. This can be checked by putting a piece of toilet paper underneath and seeing if it sucks it up.

Bedroom Heaters:

Bedroom heaters not working - Check they are switched on at the wall next to it or an isolator switch or fused outlet on the wall at high level and that the dial on it is turned up.

Kitchen Fan:

Kitchen hood lights not working - Check bulbs. Check if the fan is not working either.

Extractor fan in kitchen hood not working - Check switched on at the wall. Switch will be with washing machine, fridge freezer and hob switch.

Vacuum Cleaner:

Vacuum cleaner not working - check its not blocked down the hose and that it isn't just full. Is there a sound, is the motor running?

No Hot Water:

No hot water - Check boiler is switched on.

Gas boilers - Check the boiler pressure, re-pressurise if needed

Economy 7 boilers (in apartments) heat up water over night off-peak. If not enough hot water, use boost button for additional heat although this would be at peak rate.

If you decide to call your own engineer iSite will not be liable for the costs.

TV Signal:

TV signal poor - Try re-tuning TV/Freeview box. Is the lead plugged into the correct socket on the wall?

No TV signal in bedroom - Need to get a 'Y splitter'. This splits the signal in the lounge which is then plugged back into the 'Return' socket in lounge. The socket in the bedroom should then work.

Smoke Alarm:

Smoke alarm beeping - This means it needs the battery changing.

Washing Machine / Dish Washer:

Washing machine / Dish Washer not working - Check it’s not blocked. It needs to be drained and the filter checked for blockages.

A common fault with washing machines is that the drain pump can get blocked with coins, hair clips, bra wires. Please check that the filter is clear first or the engineers call costs will be at your expense.

Fridge Freezer:

Fridge Freezer not freezing/chilling - Is the light coming on? Can you hear the motor? If its a frost free freezer then they can't be over filled otherwise the air can't flow, stopping the fan from working.

You will need to turn it off for 48 hrs to allow it to defrost to allow the cold air to circulate from bottom compartment to top.

Fridge Freezer over freezing - Probably an integrated fridge that isn't closing properly. If it is, ask them if the can detach the freezer door from the cupboard door by unscrewing it and see if that solves it after defrosting. Alternatively if they let the fridge freezer defrost itself and then set it to medium or maximum that should solve the problem.

Leaks:

Leak - We need to know where its coming from and basically as much info as possible.

Is it leaking from under the bath, sink or toilet for instance when it is flushed or emptied? If so it's a drain pipe problem and not a water supply pipe problem.

If the water is entering the property from another property (i.e. from the apartment above) contact the tenant above and determine what is causing the leak. Have the tenant of that property stop the leak if possible.

Turn the water off at the stop tap to stop the leak and minimise any further damage.

Drain Blockages:

All drains are checked as being clear prior to you moving into the property and hence any drain blockage following your move in must be due to items / food debris etc flushed down by yourselves. You should try drain block buster to clear kitchen drains etc. (do not poor oil, fat, food bits down a sink drain as these may cause blockages)

For a toilet system you may just need to keep flushing the toilet but to be careful that the bowel does not overflow. (do not flush items such as sanitary towels, nappies, cotton buds etc down the toilet as these can cause a blockage)

If you have an external drain blockage then we will organise this but if the blockage is found to be caused by something flushed through from the house then this will be at the tenants expense.

Toilet Flush:

Toilet will not flush.

Does water come out when the flush is pressed and does not go down the drain or does no water come out when flushed?

If no water comes out and you do have water at the taps then there is a problem with the flush mechanisum and we will have an engineer attend. In the mean time you should poor a bucket of water down the toilet to flush it.

If water comes out of the cistern but does not go down the drain then the soil pipe if blocked. This is a problem caused by something that you have flushed down the toilet (nappy, blue loo holder, tissue etc) and hence you need to call a plumber at your expense to clear this.

Damp / Condensation:

Reports of damp are often found to be condensation especially at winter time. Causes can be drying wet clothes on radiators, cooking with boiling water, showering steam etc but the cause can often be poor ventilation. Do make sure that windows are open for ventilation and fans are left switched on and ventilation vents are not blocked.

No Water:

If there is no water to the property check with the neighbours to see if it's the same for then.

If so, call United Utilities and determine if there is a supply problem to the area.

Light Bulbs:

Light not working - Check bulb (try 2 bulbs to make sure).

Replacement bulbs and fuses etc are the tenants responsibility

Corridor light not working - Many tenants report this to us but it should be reported to the Management company first/as well, as should any other communal issue.

Intercom:

Intercom not working - You should report to management company first. If no other reports of faulty intercom then pass onto us.

Your Liability:

If a leak, electrical fault, broken key, fire etc are determined to have been caused by yourself then the costs and management costs of putting right the damage will be passed to yourself.

This is why it is compulsory for you to take out tenants insurance.

Contact Details:

For communal issues (bins, corridors, lifts, interapartment leaks etc etc) you will need to contact the building management company (this is NOT iSite). You should find their contact details in the corridor by the main entrance.