Southwark Council - value for money?

[benjaminty]

Does anyone ever phone Southwark council and feel they are taken seriously? Do you ever get a satisfactory answer?

(asking for a new recycling box doesn't count)

Any goodtime stories re Southwark please place them on here to let me retain some faith?

Edited for typo

[david_carnell]

Southwark Council have always collected large items of rubbish or waste when asked, on time and free of charge.

Bravo.

[intexasatthe moment]

Southwark's Healthy Homes /Handy Person service for over 60 year olds which will come round and do small maintenance jobs for very small charge - ?10 or ?20.

http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200093/support_in_your_home/835/a_helping_hand_around_your_home/1

Though I believe it's being decimated from 6 to 2 workers next month.

And I agree about the bulky items removal service which is fantastic .

( just wish my neighbours would use it )

[Loz]

Southwark do a very good job of emptying my bin, picking up my recycling and keeping the streets clean. Really, that's all I need a council for. Anything else is a bonus.

[Alex K]

The bedded flowers in the carriageway divider on Dog Kennel Hill are beautiful nine months out of the year, and I'm grateful to Southwark Council every time I see them.

[intexasatthe moment]

Oh yes Alex - and the starry dogs ,I so love the starry dogs !

[louisiana]

The dogs are my favourite. :)

[mike-fitt]

I'm sure it is better than Lambeth Council!

[zeban]

I think Southwark Council is definitely value for money. Very happy with them.

[benjaminty]

david_carnell Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Southwark Council have always collected large

> items of rubbish or waste when asked, on time and

> free of charge.

>

> Bravo.

thats not free of charge

[benjaminty]

So far 148 people have looked at this link and 7 people responded and in summary:

Empty my bins

nice flowers on the dual carriageway

Handy man service

[david_carnell]

benjaminty Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> david_carnell Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Southwark Council have always collected large

> > items of rubbish or waste when asked, on time

> and

> > free of charge.

> >

> > Bravo.

>

>

> thats not free of charge

Err....yes it is. From Southwark Council website:

Southwark residents can have bulky waste such as old furniture, fridges and other large household items collected free of charge.

[david_carnell]

benjaminty Wrote:

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> So far 148 people have looked at this link and 7

> people responded and in summary:

>

> Empty my bins

> nice flowers on the dual carriageway

> Handy man service

What would make you happy? Cured my cancer? Found little Maddie? Had a NASA-esque space programme?

You asked for good news stories and in one afternoon got 7.

We know you have an agenda, the council have somehow wronged you, but until we have 7 horror stories it appears you're in the minority.

[Loz]

mike-fitt Wrote:

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> I'm sure it is better than Lambeth Council!

Anything is better than Lambeth Council. I'd rather a flock of dead sheep than Lambeth Council.

[bawdy-nan]

I have to say I'm pretty satisfied - on the plus side - the parks are good and very well cared for, the libraries aren't closed (yet, I too LOVE the free bulky items collection service, I;ve never had any problems with refuse collection and the one time the recyling van left a dreadful mess one call had it cleared uo within 24 hours, school admissions has had a bad reputation and they seem to have been more than a bit rubbish on their schools places planning but my experience of dealing with them was good: pleasant, humane and efficient.

I hated the way they dealt with the Livesey Museum but on the whole, from an entirely subjective perspective, I;d say they're pretty good

[Alex K]

Let me contribute a few more.

The "one-stop shop" in the Walworth Road handled my council-tax payments month by month efficiently and in a friendly manner. (This was before I nad the nous to set up a direct debit. **shame**)

Council-tax refunds, when I've overpaid (don't ask), have been smoothly and quickly handled.

Rubbish and recycling are handled, for me, in a manner that leaves nothing to be wished.

Although to do so must elicit much eye-rolling, council workers regularly clear away the fly-tipped rubbish that winds up at Dulwich Hamlet.

The Grove Vale library personnel are lovely.

***

I dunno, Benjaminty. When I ring them they pick up; when I ask for help they follow through (civil partnership, working toward civil partner's citizenship ceremony); and it's not Tower Hamlets. I'm not unhappy.

[Gimme]

Suggestion for savings at Southwark Council... get rid of their 'help'line.

I've phoned this on a number of occasions, found the staff to be ignorant and uninterested, and have never ever had anything done as a result of a call to the main switchboard (e.g. flytipping reports - they just don't bother). Total waste of breath, money and time.

FYI - If you ever want anything done at Southwark council, find out the name of the senior person in charge of the department, and phone or email them directly (repeatedly). Funnily enough, that seems to work in the end.

Actually, thinking about it, generally, Southwark Council are unresponsive, bureaucratic and plodding.

Has anything changed since the Labour administration too over?

Or is it still the same useless people taking a long time to do very little but under different political guidance?

[regalia]

Gimme wrote :- is it still the same useless people taking a long time to do very little but under different political guidance?

I had to ring them and explain about the state of the road outside the house, each bendy bus passing north or south makes the house shake and shudder right through to the back door.

It took twenty five minutes explaining word for word, whilst the almost illiterate clown at the other end of the phone using his 'slow pencil', scribbled down some kind of garbled message which has failed to produce any results.

Grrrrr!

Why have employ someone to man a phone line to feed forward information if they do not act, why not save that money and use it for something beneficial.

[david_carnell]

Has anything changed since the Labour administration too over?

Or is it still the same useless people taking a long time to do very little but under different political guidance?

You do know how local elections work, right? You don't elect council workers or local authority staff. You just vote for the councillors themselves, who last time I checked, don't man help-desks mainly because they have other jobs during the day and do council work in their spare time.

As for the staff themselves.....pay peanuts, get monkeys. And of course I've never met an ineffective private sector worker. My office is like an episode of the Apprentice. Actually, scrap that. That's even worse.

[kennethw]

My only gripe is with the council tax helpline, they weren't that helpful and took 2 months to reply to an email I sent them.

Other than that, I think they do well. They did give us blue wheelybins in place of the small garden bins for recycling, which is much more practical for a box of flats. We had large garden bins which just took up space and lay empty before.

[RobMiller]

We love the parks, the libraries are a great place to take the kids, and the building inspectors have been good when we've needed them too. Generally I'd say we're fairly content with the services we need from them...

[????]

I'm going to give them a not bad. All the bits we deal with or get services from seem pretty good - education, parks, leisure centres, bins, etc

[Bellenden Belle]

david_carnell Wrote:

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> Southwark Council have always collected large

> items of rubbish or waste when asked, on time and

> free of charge.

>

> Bravo.

Erm, except the large piece of garden fencing that I requested be removed about a month ago.

[Horsebox]

david_carnell Wrote:

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> What would make you happy? Found

> little Maddie?

We can but hope and pray.

I for one would happily pay a 100% increase if they did.

Poor little Maddy :(

This country is going to the dogs.

Not in my grandfather's time etc etc

[Gimme]

I'm sure you have carnell knowledge that we are not privy to.... :)

david_carnell Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Has anything changed since the Labour

> administration too over?

> Or is it still the same useless people taking a

> long time to do very little but under different

> political guidance?

>

> You do know how local elections work, right? You

> don't elect council workers or local authority

> staff. You just vote for the councillors

> themselves, who last time I checked, don't man

> help-desks mainly because they have other jobs

> during the day and do council work in their spare

> time.

>

> As for the staff themselves.....pay peanuts, get

> monkeys. And of course I've never met an

> ineffective private sector worker. My office is

> like an episode of the Apprentice. Actually, scrap

> that. That's even worse.