West Oxfordshire’s largest housing association has launched a webchat service to offer customers a new way of getting in touch.

Cottsway’s online service gives two new ways of sourcing information:

• A chat bot which provides details on requesting a repair, finding a property and landlord permission 24/7; and
• A live chat system which is available Monday to Thursday from 9am until 5pm and Friday 9am - 4.30pm.

Both can be found via the housing association’s website at: www.cottsway.co.uk

Rachael Higgins, Cottsway’s Customer Services Manager, said “The coronavirus pandemic has shown, more than ever, that it’s essential for customers to be able to contact us online effectively and we’re delighted to be able to offer not one but two new webchat services to our customers.

“We’ve been working hard to ensure we move with the times and will continue to increase our online services, but we are also committed to supporting our customers by phone and email too, so that they contact us in the most convenient way for them.”

Customers were asked how they would like to communicate with Cottsway as part of a survey which ran over the summer of 2020 and 50% of respondents requested the option to get in touch via instant messaging online.

Cottsway plans to develop the chatbot system further over the coming months so that more information will be available at the click of a button, giving customers greater opportunity to find the information they need quickly online.