Updated 11 September 2012

Our standards

Debt Management, Jobcentre Plus, and The Pensions, Disability and Carers Service are all part of the DWP.

Each part delivers services to different groups of people, but the whole Department is committed to meeting a single set of customer service standards as defined by the the DWP Charter, which can be found on the Directgov website:

• Right treatment
• Right result
• On time
• Easy access.

The DWP Charter together with this document explain more about what these standards mean for you as a customer of Debt Management, together with the commitment to keep them under continuous review.

We are keen to see that our service reflects the standards that are important to you, our customer. The following statements describe how we will do this:

Right treatment

We will:

• treat you fairly and with respect
• treat all customers equally and consistently
• protect your personal information
• provide the standard of service you expect to receive from us
• explain things clearly and in terms you can understand.

Right result

We will:

• give you information that is correct
• explain why too much money has been paid to you, whether you need to pay it back and if so, why
• put things right if they go wrong
• look again at the decisions we have made if you believe it is wrong
• explain what will happen if the outcome is not what you had hoped for.

On time

We aim to:

• answer 90% of the calls we receive during normal working hours
• respond to written or emailed enquiries within 10 working days
• respond to your written or emailed complaint within 15 working days
• if we cannot respond in the time stated, we will explain when you can get a full response.

Easy access

We will:

• be available to take your calls from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm Monday to Friday and 9.00 am to 4.00 pm on Saturdays on 0845 850 0293
• provide our opening times and contact details when we write to you
• provide a contact name and explanation when we call you
• explain where you can obtain further help and advice
• provide a text phone service for the hard of hearing or speech impaired
• speak to you in your preferred language using an interpreting service
• provide our letters in large print or Braille if requested.