Accessibility Policy (UK)

A.  TREATMENT OF VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS.

Gigs is committed to ensuring our services are inclusive and accessible to everyone. This policy is designed to comply with requirements of the Office of Communications (“Ofcom”) General Conditions, and is reviewed periodically to align with any significant changes in regulation or our service offerings.

Overview & our commitment

We believe that everyone should have access to the products and services they need regardless of their personal circumstances or accessibility needs. We appreciate that our customers have different needs, and some may require extra help from time to time. This could be due to a permanent requirement or temporary if they’re going through a difficult time. Our aim is to identify customers who may be vulnerable each time they interact with us and to ensure that they receive a consistent approach which considers their circumstances, meets their needs and delivers a great experience.

Our engagement with Ofcom and commitment to deliver good customer care to our disabled and vulnerable customers is ongoing.  See more information on this below under Part B “ACCESSIBILITY ASSISTANCE.”

Education and training

We are committed to acting professionally, fairly and with integrity. We ensure appropriate training is provided to all relevant members of staff - both permanent employees and temporary workers - to ensure they are aware of the lLaws, rRegulations and local policies that impact their day-to-day work.

How we help

We offer several ways in which you can securely register for adjustments based on your accessibility needs or personal circumstances that may make you vulnerable. To request adjustments based on your accessibility needs or personal circumstances, please contact our Partner’s support team first. They are best positioned to assist you and will liaise with Gigs if necessary.

Paying your bill

If you are struggling to pay your bills we can help you by reviewing your account. 

Our process ensures that we give you extra time to make a payment and we ask that you contact our partner’s support team first before reaching out to Gigs via support@gigs.com. In circumstances where you are unable to contact us to make a payment you may be able to appoint another person or nominate a friend or family member to pay your bill on your behalf (this person must agree to act on your behalf in this manner). If that person doesn’t have your account information to pass security, they can still pay a bill on your behalf. However, to protect you, we won’t be able to disclose any account or balance information unless they pass account security.

Bereavement

If you’re affected by bereavement or a terminal illness diagnosis, please reach out to our Partner’s support team. They will help with any account changes and can coordinate with Gigs if required.

Power of attorney or other court appointed third parties

If you need to tell us about a court appointed third party including Power of Attorney, Court of Protection and Benefits appointee on behalf of a customer, you can let us know by sending a copy of the official document to us via email. Alternatively, you can contact our partners or Gigs by phone, Text Relay or Video Relay and depending on the type of document you have been granted we may be able to validate your status immediately. 

Refunds

If you have simply changed your mind about your purchase within the 14-day cooling off period, please see the corresponding section of your End User Service Agreement for more information.

Alternative formats and website accessibility

If you have problems viewing any of your documents or communications (excluding marketing and urgent messages) due to a disability, we can provide them in alternative formats. We support Braille and large print on white or coloured paper options. If you'd like this service, please contact us or our Partners. Some of our customers and visitors to our websites may use Assistive Technology or specific keyboard commands to navigate website content. We are also aware that there are a number of accessibility issues that we are working on to address. We take all feedback onboard and will work with our teams to ensure your experience is as accessible as we can make it. If you have suggestions for improvements or problems using our website, please get in contact with us.

B.  ACCESSIBILITY ASSISTANCE

Register your accessibility needs or personal circumstances

If you find it difficult to access any of our services due to a disability or personal circumstance, please contact our Partner's support team first. They are your main point of contact and will liaise with Gigs where necessary to ensure that appropriate adjustments are made. You can then reach out to Gigs and let us know via email at support@gigs.com or write to us at 2 Leman Street, London, United Kingdom, E1W 9US. With your consent, we can flag your account so our staff can respond to your needs appropriately.

Get priority help and support

If you or someone in your household has already registered for support, or you’ve let us know when reporting a fault, we promise to prioritise your appointment over our standard level of care.

Please note – bad weather, such as storms and floods, can stop our service technicians repairing overhead cables or working in maintenance holes.

Service and support

1. Next Generation Text Relay

• Emergency calls - Dial 18000 (free)

• Text relay call - Dial 18001 + phone number (free)

• To call someone using the relay service - Dial 18002 + phone number (standard UK minutes charge)

Next Generation Text Relay (also referred to as, NGTR) is a service that helps members with hearing loss and/or speech impairment to make and receive calls. NGTR is a service that Gigs supports.

A relay assistant acts as an intermediary to convert speech to text and vice versa for the two people on the call.

For more information visit the Next Generation Text Service website.

2. Emergency Text Service

• Emergency Service Text - Dial 999 and 112 (free of charge)

Emergency text services are available to members who have hearing or speech impairments. Members will need to register their phone before using the emergency SMS service. For more information visit the Emergency SMS website.

3. Free Directory Enquiries

• Directory enquiries - Dial 195 (free of charge)

Directory enquiries is a service provided for those not able to read or hold a telephone directory due to an illness or disability. Members will need to sign up to use this service. For more information visit the Free directory enquiries website.

4. Terms and Conditions available in Braille and in large print

The Gigs Terms and Conditions are available in Braille and large print format on request. If you would like a copy please email support@gigs.com, including your name and address.

5. 999 BSL or Emergency Video Relay Service (EVRS)

999 BSL is an Emergency Video Relay Service that helps British Sign Language (BSL) users to contact the emergency services through a BSL interpreter. 

How does it work?

It’s simple. You open the 999 BSL app and hit the red button. A British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter will appear on the screen. The BSL interpreter will dial 999 and relay the conversation. This won’t use any mobile data and you won’t be charged. Just like a regular 999 call.

For more information on how this works go to the 999 BSL website.

6. Using the Gigs website

(a). Supported browsers and how to increase text size

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and above (not on Mac)

• Using your mouse:View > Text Size You can also use Tools > Internet Options > Accessibility

• Using your keyboard:Control key and + or – to increase or decrease text size

Safari 4 and above (on Mac, limited support on the iPad)

• Using your mouse:Safari > Preferences > Advanced then select minimum font size to display

• Using your keyboard:Command key and + or – to increase or decrease text size

Firefox 3.6 and above (on PC, limited support on the Mac)

• Using your mouse:View > Zoom > Zoom in or Zoom out

• Using your keyboard:Control key and + or – to increase or decrease text size

Google Chrome v 11 and above

• Using your mouse:Customise and control Google Chrome > Zoom

• Using your keyboard:Control key and + or – to increase or decrease text size

You may experience additional issues if using a version of a browser still in BETA, report these to the relevant company who’s supporting the BETA.

(b) How to listen to the website

Some operating systems also have built-in accessibility features that can read text aloud, or magnify parts of the screen. If you have your own screen reading software you should find it works well on gigs.com. If you face any particular issues on the Gigs site, please don’t hesitate to report these to accessibility@gigs.com

(c) Speed of the website

We know that site speed is important to our customers and we strive for it to be as fast as possible. However, there are additional external factors which can influence the speed at which you can view our site. These can include your Internet speed and the performance of your Internet Service Provider, as well as the number of users browsing all sites at any one time.

(d) Screen resolution

Our website is designed for optimal resolution use at 1024x768.

Plug-ins and helpers are not required for key functions on our site, but we do assume you have:

• Adobe Reader for .pdf files

If a plug-in or helper application is required to access content, this will be highlighted. Plug-ins can be downloaded using the links above. Gigs is not responsible for content on third party sites – including sites linked to above.