Askporter and PropCall have formed a partnership to integrate their services for housing providers and facilities management organisations dealing with out-of-hours repairs and emergencies.
The arrangement combines Askporter’s automated triage system with PropCall’s 24-hour human call-handling service.
Incoming enquiries through WhatsApp, SMS, email and the web will be categorised by Askporter, with non-emergency cases directed through the client’s normal service process.
Issues identified as emergencies outside working hours will be escalated to PropCall, whose agents can manage the case and, within guidelines agreed with the client, authorise emergency repairs costing up to £500.
The companies said the integration was intended to reduce the number of routine enquiries reaching out-of-hours teams and provide a continuous record of cases between overnight and daytime operations.
Till Eichenauer, chief executive of Askporter, said: “Residents and occupants still need support when the office closes. Yet many property teams rely on costly rotas for tradespeople that are rarely used, or they send everything to voicemail, where a genuine emergency can end up waiting until Monday alongside dozens of routine enquiries.
“Neither approach reflects the growing expectations around rapid hazard response under Awaab’s Law or the demands of clients who measure performance by response times.”
Eichenauer said the integration would also provide daytime teams with case notes from issues handled overnight.
He added: “Housing and FM teams will now start each day with actionable case notes rather than manually reviewing overnight emails and call logs, allowing them to focus on resolving issues.”
Josh Kinniburgh, director at PropCall, said: “Askporter’s AI-powered platform provides the intelligence to triage every enquiry, while we provide the human expertise.
“Our team gives residents reassurance that they’re speaking to someone who understands their situation and is taking ownership of the issue which builds trust.”
He added: “By ensuring genuine emergencies are identified and dealt with fast, we can prevent minor issues escalating into costly problems, such as a water leak causing damage over an entire weekend.”
