Leeds City Council

hev_2

I realise this is trivial, but I have to get it off my chest.

I have phoned 4 times since 29 Oct to try and get the council to empty the recycle bin - giving them plenty of time to sort it out. The ordinary binmen are great, no complaints at all, but our recycle bin should be emptied every month, and I always have to call at least twice.

This time when I was told yet again that it would be passed on to the collection team, I asked who I should make a complaint to (I was nice to the person on the end of the phone - they aren't the ones failing to empty the recycle bin, but I was pretty fed up). So I got passed to the Complaints Department.

Now, they are going to see why the recycle bins are not being collected but, and this is almost word for word, I wish I had taped it, 'they will not sort out the problem, as that would make a mockery of the complaints department. If they sorted out every problem that came in it would waste everyone's time. They will send me an explanation of why my recycle bin is not being emptied within fifteen days.'

I am still a little stunned that the complaints department will not sort out a problem, but will send me an explanation within fifteen days. TBH I am not expecting much from that, more a lame fob off. And the odds are I will still not have my recycle bin emptied! BTW it is the whole street that is affected not just me, and I know that others have rung in to ask for the recycle bins to be emptied.

I know that there are far worse things in this world than not having the recycle bin emptied, and it is just a minor irritation, but I can't get over a complaints department that will not sort out a complaint - that admits it!

I will be in touch with my councillor, who is a member of the Green Party.

Baffled rant over.

ManAtHome

Bit more than a minor irritation - my recycle bin is close to full each month. The non-recyc one could manage longer than that, but is currently collected every week. No prizes for guessing where the recyclables would go if they missed the monthly collection (hopefully moving fortnightly on both soon).

[edit] just a thought - try listening to Radio Leeds (FM 92.4) and give 'em a call (dunno the number) - councils seem to become suddenly responsive when they give them a call...

hev_2

ManAtHome - Thanks for that! I may try it, it is just so weird having a complaints department that doesn't sort out the complaints. I suppose Complaints fits better on a letter head than Fob-you-off-with-lame-excuse department lol.

I suspect that there is a problem either with access or content or the road not being on the route, but if they could tell us what it was we could sort it out. The men who empty the ordinary bins are brilliant. They don't leave a mess, they are reasonably quiet and they do their job.

Voyager2002

A 'Green' councillor sounds like the ideal person to sort this out.

The Complaints department should at least let you know why there is a problem. Your councillor will be able to use this information to get the problem resolved.

hollydays

Ring back and threaten to dump the green waste in the middle of the street(within the next 15 days)-that usually concentrates their minds.

hev_2

Sorry - I can't seem to get the 'Thanks' button to work.

We are on an unadopted road, so dumping the waste in the middle of the street would only inconvenience us - and I wouldn't dream of looking for a really high profile place, honest

I suspect that there is a problem somewhere with the route or something, as the whole street gets missed, but all I want is to be able to ring up and sort it out - the Complaints department don't want to know.

I have been in touch with my councillor who is pretty good, so fingers crossed.

hev_2

And to add insult to injury, when I called today to make a nuisance of myself, according to the computer, I have only called once this month!

It is starting to get silly. I am going to have to log all the times I have called, who I have spoken to etc just to get the bin emptied! I wasn't getting all that stressed about it but I can see it getting really out of control, with me ringing all the time and getting shirty, just over a bin!

I wouldn't mind, but I have always tried to be polite to the people I have spoken to. Sigh, I am going to have to get all Mrs Hitler about it.

Millie's_Mum

Leeds city council's complaints department is marvellous, my normal wheelie bin was set on fire in July last year, I rang to ask for a new one and was told it would take 8 weeks (I don't know why cos they make them up the road from us and you can see them all in storage as you drive past)

I emailed and complained in september and had the letter saying they would investigate and write to me in 15 days, well it's just gone 15 months and I haven't had any letter from them.

I sorted it out in the end by speaking direct to the depot and got a new bin within a month, I don't have the number anymore but maybe you could ring the council switchboard and ask for the depot's phone number.

tealady

You mention your road is unadopted, that could be part of the problem. A lot of Councils use computerised databases and you road may not be on the system correctly. If you have to ring again ask if there is a reference number or log for your call, my Council can easliy trace calls to the bin men with a reference number.

hev_2

Millies Mum - when our wheelie bin got stolen, I first requested a new one (politely) when I was seven months pregnant. I finally got one after calling my councillor when my DS was a month old - and yes, they knew of my condition :rolleyes:

Tealady - that the road is unadopted may be part of the problem, but really this problem has been going on for a few months now, so you would have thought it would be possible to add it to the routes. Our normal bins get collected every week without problem, and I have been assuming that they share the database. Perhaps that is too much to expect from the Council!

I have been told the recycle bin should be collected by the end of the day. I am not betting money on it. Sigh.

kr15snw

We have just gone over to wheelie bins and its a bit of a lottery as to when they come to collect them. Official dates are there but in the last 2 months they have only collected on that day once. Its normally a day late but at times has been up to a week late. Because of where we are situated we have to leave our bins on the edge of the road (a good distance from the property), and Im not keen on leaving it there for a few days at a time!

So the council care? Not in the slightest!