Service Standards, Charging Policy and Health & safety

This section gives information about the standard of service you can expect when booking a pest control treatment.

Customer Care

Our aim is to treat our customers in an understanding, polite and efficient manner. Whilst every attempt will be made to respond to requests for prompt service, priority will be given to complaints involving pests that present a risk to occupiers or public health.

Where access to accommodation is required or the occupier wishes to be present during the treatment, an arrangement will be made to treat on a morning or afternoon of a mutually convenient date.

Where visits are made but access is unavailable, a card will be left by the Pest Control Officer detailing the time and date of the visit and a telephone number on which they may be contacted.

How we Achieve Quality of Service

The Council is committed to delivering quality services, meeting local needs that represent value for money.

The ‘day to day’ responsibility for managing the pest control service lies with the Residential Services Manager.

Having set the standards that the Council wishes the service to achieve, it is essential that the detailed arrangements in the policy are put into practice and monitored. In addition to carrying out periodic customer satisfaction surveys, the following indicators will be monitored:

• The number of requests for pest control service.
• Compliance with target response times.
• The number and nature of complaints made against the service.

This policy will be reviewed periodically and amendments made, taking into account statutory charges, technical advances, the needs of the customer and the cost of the service.

Policy Statement

“Swindon Borough Council is committed to offering a comprehensive, quality pest control service, in which it will prioritise the use of its resources to address pests of public health risk.”

Charging

Treatments of pests are charged in accordance with the agreed table of charges.

Discounted rates for Certain Customers If a customer can prove that they qualify for / have been issued with a with concessionary Swindon Card (“Gold Card”) they will be eligible for a reduced price treatment. Concessionary Swindon cards are those having a “Y” or “Z” suffix after the card number. Details of this reduction are listed under the relevant pests treatments below.

Method of payment

There are two methods available:

• We prefer payment to be made at the time of booking the treatment. Payment  can be taken over the phone by either credit or debit card at the time of making the booking. To encourage this method of payment we give a £2 treatment fee reduction.

• A cheque may be presented to the Pest Control Officer prior to the treatment commencing. Please note that cash will not normally be accepted by the Pest Control Officer and that no fee reduction is offered for payments made at the time of the treatment.

Note on Charging

The method and time taken for treating various pest types differs and this is reflected in the fee charged. The specific details of a treatment may change depending on the exact nature of an infestation or the layout of a building and sometimes this cannot be established until a site inspection is made. This is most common with cockroaches, bed bugs, carpet beetles, or similar pest types. However, for domestic treatments only one fee is normally charged. For commercial treatments, the cost of revisits or subsequent treatments will be charged.

Health and Safety Issues

The Council recognises its duties under Health and Safety legislation and will take all reasonably practicable steps to prevent any risk to health arising from its pest control treatments.

The Council will ensure that all Pest Control Officers are properly trained and qualified to carry out the treatments offered by the service. Administrative staff will be trained to give basic advice on the full range of pest problems.

Prior to carrying out any treatment the Pest Control Officer will assess the risks of people or pets coming into contact with the pesticide to be used. Baits in kitchens and premises such as schools, nurseries etc will only be laid in protected bait containers which will be clearly marked “POISON” and will be positioned so as to minimise the risk of interference by children, vulnerable persons or animals. Bait may be laid in open bait trays when located in areas away from children and animals such as in lofts. The Pest Control Officer will assess the risk before he puts the poison down. It should be noted that the poison that is used for rats and mice contains BITREX which makes the poison unpalatable to humans and most pets.

Occupiers of premises where bait or insecticide has been laid, will be given safety information detailing the type of pesticide used together with a safe procedure for disposing of dead rodents in order to minimise the risk of secondary poisoning of other animals.

In the case of rats and mice Pest Control Officers will revisit premises to check the effectiveness of the treatment and to collect unused rodenticide wherever practicable.