Surveying Our Customers

To help us to do this, we work with market research agencies to find out more about what our customers think about us as a landlord and the services we provide you. 

We always work with market research agencies who follow the guidance of the Market Research Society and make sure the requirements set out in the Data Protection Act 2018 (including GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation) are followed. 

Who are Acuity Research & Practice Ltd and why are they contacting me? 

We work closely with a market research agency called Acuity who carry out the majority of our customer feedback surveys on our behalf. 

Acuity may call you from time to time to ask for your feedback about services you may have used as a Karbon Homes customer. 

They will always explain who they are when they call, and they will ask if you are willing to complete the survey. Of course, if you don’t wish to take part then we completely understand, just let them know. Also, they will never ask you any personal questions relating to your finances. The telephone number that Acuity will call from will be 0191 821 0011.

Acuity work with a number of other housing organisations similar to Karbon. It is quite common for organisations like Karbon to work with market research agencies as they provide specialist services and value for money.  

Acuity is a member of the Market Research Society, so they are bound under a strict code of conduct. They have ISO 9001, a quality management system that ensures that the highest quality is adhered to. 

We have a Data Sharing Agreement in place with Acuity which ensures we comply with the highest standards of data sharing procedures and Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR requirements. Acuity won’t ever ask for your personal or financial information or try to sell anything, and they will never pass your name or contact details on to any third-party organisations. 

Further information about the company can be found by visiting their website: https://www.arap.co.uk/ Their research privacy notice is available here https://www.arap.co.uk/about/privacy-data-protection-2/

What happens to my feedback? 

Feedback on your experiences of the services we provide is really important to us. It helps us to identify what we are doing well and if there are any service areas we need to focus on when making service improvements.  

We actively use customer feedback to improve our services and comments made during satisfaction surveys really do make a difference, so we do hope that you will take part. If you have any queries, please contact us on 0300 300 1505, and ask to speak to the Strategic Planning and Insight Team. 

As well as telephone surveys, we sometimes use post, email and text messages to gather feedback. 

You can opt-out of taking part in any of our surveys at any time, just let us know by contacting us on 0808 164 0111. 

What about my personal information?  

We have a Data Sharing Agreement in place with Acuity which ensures we comply with the highest standards of data sharing procedures under the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR requirements.  

Karbon Homes is classed as the ‘Data Controller’ with Acuity acting as the ‘Data Processor’. This means that Acuity strictly cannot use the information we provide for any other purpose than collecting customer feedback on Karbon Homes’ behalf. This also applies to other market research agencies which we may occasionally work with.  

As a social housing provider and your landlord, we believe that carrying out market research with our customers falls under the legitimate interest bracket of GDPR.  

By asking our customers to complete optional surveys, it allows Karbon Homes to collect useful information about our services that can then be used to improve services. The surveys that we carry out have minimal impact on the privacy of our customers, and customers can contact us to opt-out of taking part at any time. 

For more information on data privacy and data protection in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) read Karbon’s  Privacy Statement. A copy of our External Communications, Marketing and Customer Insight Policy is also available upon request.