Question 1

What if I have an emergency outside of office hours?

Accepted Answer

Pickards has an Out-of-Hours team dedicated to assisting you promptly. Simply contact our Out-of-Hours team by calling our regular landline number: 0113 274 6642.

Common issues outside of our office hours often involve maintenance problems and lockouts.

Below, we provide guidance on how to address these common concerns.

Maintenance:

If you experience a maintenance issue when our offices are closed, report it using our maintenance portal. If the situation requires immediate attention, please call 0113 274 6642; our Out-of-Hours team will support. The team are equipped to handle various queries and can, if necessary, coordinate with contractors to resolve a issue promptly.

Lock out:

If you have locked yourself out of your bedroom or property, our Out-of-Hours team, can arrange a locksmith to attend your property on your behalf. A cost will be associated with this service and will be invoiced to you shortly after.

Smell gas:

If you can smell gas:

Call the National Gas Emergency Service External link immediately on  0800 111 999 – make a note of the reference number they give you

Fire:

In the event of a fire:

Raise the alarm to warn other occupants – shout ‘FIRE, FIRE, FIRE’.

Ensure that no one is in immediate danger.

Call the Fire Brigade – 999

Leak:

If there’s a leak, you might need to shut off your water at the stop tap. There could be multiple stop taps in your property, typically found in one of three places: the cellar, utility room, or kitchen.

Additionally, many individual appliances have their own isolator valve, which can also be useful if you can identify the source of the leak.

Power cut:

If you have a power cut in your property you should complete the following steps to establish the cause of the tripped electrics.

Firstly, check to see if there has been a power outage in your using the live power cuts map provided by National Grid..

If you there has not been a power outage in your area you should:

1. Go to the fuse box and ensure that all switches are to the very bottom, including the mains switch and the RCD Switch (these are the bigger switches).

2. Put RCD switch to the top and mains switch to the top, these two should always stay up.

3. Working from left to right put all of the smaller switches up to the very top, waiting around 10 seconds between each switch. If the item that tripped the electrics in the first place is still plugged in, it will cause the smaller switch to not stay up. You must locate this item and unplug from the wall and complete the above steps again.

4. Each small switch should be labelled with an area/description – i.e. Ground Floor Sockets. This will show you which area the item is plugged into, to work out which appliance/plug in is that’s tripping the electrics you will need to turn off and unplug everything that is plugged in on that circuit.

5. Once you have managed to keep all the switches up on the fuse board you can then start to plug each item back in (one at a time), this will show you which item is causing the electrics to trip.

6. The item that has tripped the electrics will probably require the fuse changing. If it is an appliance that Pickards have supplied you, click here and we will arrange an electrician to attend and take a look.

Question 2

What should I do if I can smell gas?

Accepted Answer

If you can smell gas:

Call the National Gas Emergency Service External link immediately on

0800 111 999 - make a note of the reference number they give you

Put out any naked flames, and don’t smoke or strike any matches

Turn off all your gas appliances and don’t use them until they’re checked by an engineer

Turn off your electrical appliances, and avoid turning any switches on or off

Open your doors and windows

Contact Pickard Properties for additional support.

Question 3

How can I keep my home secure?

Accepted Answer

Your home should be a place where you feel secure and protected. Ensuring safety in your home means reducing the risk of accidents, injuries, or harm to yourself and your housemates.

Point of Ingress

Make sure doors are locked even when you are in your home. Open windows should be supervised.

Attention

Don’t make yourself a target; keep valuable items out of sight. When you are not in your property, consider leaving a light on, or purchasing a plug timer so lights come on automatically.

Protecting Data

Data can be just as valuable as your personal possessions, yet it is often overlooked. Shred any documentation containing personal information before disposing of it. Ensure that all old bank cards are discarded of correctly.

Features

Familiarise yourself with the security measures in your home. Your property may have a burglar alarm, Anti-Snap Sold Secure Diamond Security locks, letterbox protectors, outdoor lights, and window restrictors.

If you have any suggestions for additional security measures in your home, please do contact pickard@pickardproperties.co.uk.

More advise can be found via police.uk.

How can I keep my home secure?

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