SARH - Stafford and Rural Housing

asti

A few posts under my belt
Has anyone had problems with Stafford and rural housing association regarding repairs, alarm systems and door locks or have i just been really unlucky?



Admin edit: Amended thread title for clarity.
 

cookie_monster

Well-Known Forumite
id try and contact lunar re: her posts about her current SARH housing.....although i think the alarms are the least of her worries :(

http://www.staffordforum.com/viewtopic.php?id=4877


x
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
In desperation, I recently took someone to the SARH office on Greyfriars over a housing issue that wasn't really SARH's problem, and yet I found the staff there to be both competent and very helpful. That is my only experience of them...
 

highguyuk

Well-Known Forumite
If I had any SARH problems, I'd be marching up to their office on the Technology Park and speaking to them face to face.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
I dunno, I made a mean sammich for my trip down to minehead last week. Smokey bacon, applewood cheese and fried onions (with a little pepper added while frying) and topped with some tomato and onion chutney, in a fresh baked baguette. Amazing creations come from pissed brains!
 

db

#chaplife
highguyuk said:
db said:
tek-monkey said:
They have an office on Greyfriars too.
yeah, but the tech park has Tasty Pantry..

best
samich
ever
:love:
You are kidding?! We always used to call it the Tasteless Pantry (original I know!).
nope, defo not kidding.. i only discovered it a few months ago, on the recommendation of andreas rex, and i've been there pretty much every day since for lunch..

the sandwiches are big (near enough to what one would describe as a "doorstop"), lovely soft wholemeal bread, and you can tailor them however you like.. one of my pet hates of a lot of sandwich shops is the chicken they use - it's always that pale, white, almost watery chicken that doesn't really taste of much.. none of that here! their chicken has nice brown skin, as if it's been carved from a proper roast chicken, and tastes just as good.

i was particularly hungry on the way back from a training session the other week so treated myself to a sausage and cheese baguette (although i guess it was more of a "sub", seeing as it was soft bread and not crusty).. there were so many sausages in it they were falling out of either end, and despite being starving i couldn't even finish the whole thing!

when's the last time you went there? maybe they've upped their game since then.. i've introduced others from work to it, and they have been equally impressed..

one thing is for sure - the service you get from them sounds better than the service you get from Stafford and rural housing association (see, on topic!) :teef:
 

shoes

Well-Known Forumite
Clearly you have never been to mcgreggors.

I used to eat at the uni every day because it was way better than the tastless pantry!

It's been over two years since I was last there though.
 

basil

don't mention the blinds
tek-monkey said:
I dunno, I made a mean sammich for my trip down to minehead last week. Smokey bacon, applewood cheese and fried onions (with a little pepper added while frying) and topped with some tomato and onion chutney, in a fresh baked baguette. Amazing creations come from pissed brains!
Blimey ! imagine that with a bottle of chilled Dry Merrydown :monkeydance: ...........
 

db

#chaplife
shoes said:
Clearly you have never been to mcgreggors.

I used to eat at the uni every day because it was way better than the tastless pantry!

It's been over two years since I was last there though.
i guess a lot has changed, because my situation is the exact opposite.. i work at the uni, but would rather walk to the tech park for the lovely samiches from tasty pantry than eat the AIDS on a plate they serve here..

and yes, mcgreggor's is some serious bidniz - hot pork bap, especially.. but for a nice cold sandwich, made the way i like it, i really can't fault tasty panties :)

saying that, i'm a big chicken fan, so haven't actually tried anything else other than the aforementioned sausage & cheese sub (e.g. ham, beef, tuna, etc.).. so for all i know they might be ruddy awful lol..

i shall endeavour to be more adventurous, and start a new thread here with the results! :D
 

shoes

Well-Known Forumite
You can't really f**k up a bacon and sausage sammich :P

I have had quite a few things from the TP including a buffet lunch - all disappointing :P

Train-Derail-3.jpg
 

highguyuk

Well-Known Forumite
Tasty Pantry was taken over by new people around 18 months ago. The previous owners and the people who started up the business, retired and sold it off.

I was there for approx. 6 months of the new owners, which included at one point quite a heated discussion with them at one point when my partner and I (my partner had come up especially to have lunch with me) waited around 45 minutes just for 2 Jacket Potatos. This led to her stating the reasons, slating the ingredients the old owners used to use such as part baked potatoes and her desires to change the quality of ingredients.

In our opinion at work, it was too much for just a works cafe. Some people eat there everyday and would prefer cheaper and quicker food. I noticed when the new owners came in, alot of sandwiches appeared with Cranberry sauce on - just no need!

Last time I was up there, the Technology Park seemed very quiet. Lots of businesses had moved from there, ours moved too ... perhaps it will just be the SARH office keeping the cafe busy (staying right bang on topic too!).

That is, until they move SARH into the new town offices perhaps?
 

mickyboy

Well-Known Forumite
asti said:
Has anyone had problems with Stafford and rural housing association regarding repairs, alarm systems and door locks or have i just been really unlucky?



Admin edit: Amended thread title for clarity.
Anyway, back to the topic in hand.

Never had any prob with SARH.

Been with them since they took over running the houses( been in this property for 26 years now) from the council, and the service from them is way better than the council ever was.

When i drilled through a cable in my kitchen, after calling them they were there within an hour and stayed until the, ahem, fault was repaired.

PS. think the tasty pants is a bit overpriced but not the worst in the world.
 

Slainte

Quizmeister
Having previously worked for SARH, if you are calling up for repairs etc, then the staff are trying the best they can in the difficult crcumstances that they are not repair trained and have to use common sense which isn't always present in some people.
However they should work in conjunction with the repairs team to improve service, but I think it is the case with most social housing in complete honesty that the common complaint is you are waiting forever and a day to get simple repairs done, unless if it is emergencys where most RSL's are very good at responding to, such as the drill through wire incident...

Have you checked the repairs policy to see if your reapir is covered with SARH's remit? This could be a reason for delaying the repair?
 

Gadget

Well-Known Forumite
I'm afraidi'm not having the best of luck with SARH at the moment. We want/need an extra kitchen cupboard they finally came out looked at it and said no. Fair enough we thought we will do it ourselves. The social worker however raised it again with the housing who then agreed to put one in if we paid for it. Brilliant we thought yes please. So then we wait, not a prob as we aren't in a rush. This morning we get a payment demand from them for an over due rechargable repair charge with all the usual you have 7 days etc and you can contact CAB etc.
We've not had the work done, no measurements have been taken and certainly no previous request for payment has been made.
We rang up and got a lovely lady on reception who although couldn't help left a message for the woman in question to call us. When she did she dealt with us in such an aggressive, 'you owe us money' manner we were rather offended as she wouldn't listen that we hadn't had the cupboard yet or been asked to pay for it before. She just kept on 'our records show' Then she had the nerve to ask my hubby if we were in a position to pay today. I was quite impressed as he didn't lose it with her he just said, i tell you what love, we'll do it ourselves and put the phone down.
Now i understand that it was probably just a clerical error or a royal mail error but treating us like the bad guys and being so rude is not really on.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Gadget said:
'our records show'
Some people have difficulties in accepting that their records may not reflect reality, however much assistance you give them. Just be grateful that you are not them - it's a technique that I find quite reassuring..

I have spent the last 28 years being told by a government agency that 'our records' show that I owe them money, despite regularly telling them that their records are inaccurate and that I owe them nothing. Every few years they agree that this is true and stop for six months - then it all starts again. I had a letter from them last August agreeing that the information that I have given them is true - and a letter from them, three weeks later, starting it all over again. They have been telling me since before Christmas that they are going to 'interview me under caution' - I'm still waiting....
 
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