Welsh home builder Anwyl Homes has appointed Helen Tollitt as customer services director.
Based at the company’s headquarters in Ewloe, Flintshire, while covering both Anwyl’s Cheshire and North Wales and Lancashire regions, Helen has been leading the department since joining the business in 2019. In her new role as director she will oversee one of the biggest regulatory changes the new homes industry has ever seen.
The New Homes Quality Code, a new industry code of practice, recently launched alongside the New Homes Ombudsman Service, with developers now required to register to give their customers reassurance that their home is protected by the code and access to the ombudsman service if required.
Helen Tollitt, Anwyl Homes customer services director
Overseen by the New Homes Quality Board (NHQB), an independent organisation, the new consumer code is designed give customers confidence that their new home is built to a high standard and give them options should any issues arise.
Helen said:
“The focus of the NHQB is ‘championing quality new homes and better consumer outcomes’ and very much aligns with our own values. Its introduction is a big change for some parts of the industry but less so for others. At Anwyl Homes, we know we already build quality homes and take good care of our customers. However, the new regulations raise standards even further and is something we are proud to say we are complying with so soon after it has been introduced.”
Anwyl, building across North Wales, Cheshire, Merseyside, Lancashire and Greater Manchester, is among the first wave of developers to register with the New Homes Quality Board. Homeowners reserving new homes from November 1st are covered by the New Homes Ombudsman Service should they ever need it.
The New Homes Ombudsman (NHOS) is a consumer facing body operated independently of the NHQB. It has been established to help customers resolve issues with their new homes. The service is free to use for homeowners buying a new home from a registered developer.
Aside from managing Anwyl’s registration with the NHQB, Helen, from Tre-Mostyn, Flintshire, is relishing her new role as customer services director for Anwyl Homes, an ambitious and growing family-run business.
Before joining the housebuilder Helen has worked in customer services for 15 years, managing call centres for big names like Marks and Spencer and Shop Direct.
She managed Shop Direct’s onshore and offshore service centres in South Africa, for three years before being promoted to head of operations for their in-house Customer Excellence team, who resolved all types of regulated financial services complaints.
She said:
“I’ve always worked in customer services and love that no two days are ever the same. I thrive on managing a really strong team, working across the two Anwyl regions, I get to work with virtually everyone in the company. It is a fantastic culture at Anwyl where everyone is valued and appreciated, and I love being a part of such a strong team.
“We are continually reviewing the service we provide and are looking to introduce customer service feedback surveys to get real time insight into our customers’ experiences at different stages of their journey with us. This feedback is critical to help us focus on the things that matter to our customer now and in the future. I’m also looking forward to bringing my experience of working with an ombudsman in financial services to a new industry.”
Helen added:
“There are environmental challenges ahead for the whole industry as we change the way we build houses but that is what keeps the role interesting and everyone in the business determined to succeed.”
For more information on Anwyl Homes and the homes its building see www.anwylhomes.co.uk.
For further details on the New Homes Quality Code and the New Homes Ombudsman Service see www.nhqb.org.uk.
