An update on our text message service 

We are currently experiencing technical issues with our text message system which is causing residents to receive messages much later than they are being sent and/or receiving the same message multiple times. We want to assure you: 

• We have been working with our text message system provider to investigate the issue for the past few weeks and have escalated our query  
• We are proactively checking that your phone numbers aren’t duplicated in our system before sending you a message so that no texts are intentionally being sent twice or more 

• We only send text messages during our working hours of 8am to 6pm and would never knowingly send messages at unsociable hours unless there was an emergency 
• Your data is secure and safe - we only send messages in line with those stated in our privacy statement 
• Our use of bit.ly links in text messages is to ensure we can direct you to our web pages with more information with a secure shortened link to include more detail in one simple message 

Please bear with us – stay connected 

Text messages remain our most immediate, time efficient and cost effective way of sharing important information with you. You have every right to opt out of receiving text messages but we’d encourage you to work with us in this instance so we can continue to share key information and service updates with you, particularly during changes such as our new ways to pay and our proposed merger with Sovereign.

We completely appreciate the issues we are having may cause inconvenience so we will continue to work to resolve this and update you where possible, hopefully with just one message and at a reasonable time. As a reminder of how we use your data, you can check out our data protection area to find out about how you can exercise your data protection rights. 

Contacting us by text 

Did you know you can also contact us by text for free? You just need to text your enquiries to 07532 439 439 from Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm. Please make sure to include your full name in the text so we can find you on our system and get your questions answered.

Remember to save our number (07532439439) to your mobile phone too so you can easily spot our text messages and know what’s a genuine update from our teams.