Swindon Borough Council Reviews 64

Virtual assistant, want to speak to human adviser, but unable to. And we pay council for this crap service!

I had a visit from Mike to assess my home, I struggle with arthritis and the council offered someone to come to my home and have a look as to whether they could help, I struggle to bathe, I struggle with stairs and getting in and out of my chair, the help I received is second to none, I now have a bath lift, there's a bannister going to be fitted, my chair/sofa has been heightened, I have a kitchen stool as I struggle to stand for any amount of time, I also have been given a leg lift (to help getting in and out of bath) and a very handy grab to reach things on the floor, I felt quite emotional with the help I received, so a special mention for Emily Dudeck (my first point of contact), Helena who called me and set up the appointment for Mike to come out and assess the situation, thank you all very much, from a woman who feels she's got some dignity back, well done Swindon Borough Council 🫠

As other people have found out when driving to shopping outlet car park that it is so easy to tray onto bus lane and a nice 70£ fine comes your way
Our first and last time visiting Swindon

See you in court! I have just spend a long time on the phone trying to talk to a virtual assistant that is absolutely useless. Another faceless council that is not interested in talking to anyone with facilities that do not work. It is appalling we are paying for this nonsense

Firstly: the contact number on their OWN website does not work. Intentional? My guess is 'probably'.

Secondly: once you've succeeded in tracking down a number, unless you're needing to speak to a social worker, you've got a snowball's chance in hell of someone actually answering the phone.

It's little wonder they have an appalling 1.4 rating. It's too bad that Mayor Fay Howard & Jim Robbins seem to think this is acceptable & are clearly not in any hurry to try & do something about it.

As we speak, I've been holding the line for 13m 27s and all I can hear is a ringing line & the clear sound of apathy & laziness & inefficiency

Loading up outside my flat on Victoria Road. Cases, bags, furniture into my car with boot up, hazards on. No other parking options. Told when I moved in by parking department it was fine as long as active loading and lights on.
Warden even spoke with me and saw me loading. Photo shows hazards and door open.
Warden took great delight in putting a PCN on right in front of me as I finished loading. Never gave me chance to buckle up (did they want me to move unbuckled thus condoning contravention of traffic laws?) and move.
Appealed stating all the above and was rejected.
How are people on Victoria road meant to move in and out and load if wardens are on a vendetta to give tickets out?
Shame on you Swindon council for not using common sense and cancelling the PCN.
So many people park on there especially the takeaway delivery drivers yet I am given a PCN for a legitimate reason.
Here is a paragraph from the rejection:-

Parking on double yellow lines is not allowed under any circumstances, as these restrictions support the free flow of traffic, including emergency vehicles. While we understand this may be inconvenient, there are accessible 24-hour surface car parks nearby. Stopping briefly for pick-up or drop-off is permitted but not for longer stays. The Penalty Charge Notice was correctly issued after a five-minute observation period.

Wow... so basically I am meant to load and unload from the car park near the Co-op and carry everything which is loads and heavy stuff. Is someone from the council coming to help carry? Brief stopping and loading a full car took about 10 mins as there was loads and of course the warden saw me loading for over 5 mins actively as I was as there was no other way. The car was never left as my friend who was not insured and cannot drive was with the car whilst I went back and forwards.
Why did the warden lie and why did they take such pleasure from telling lies on their report to whoever is in charge.

So spoke with a lovely lady in the parking enforcement section who agreed that it wasn’t great that you can’t load or unload on Victoria Road but doing many trips with backbreaking weight and furniture is the only way. Wonder why the man in the summer said it was ok?
So avoid a buying/renting a property on Victoria Road unless you need no furniture however you are fine to park on double yellows if you’re a taxi or delivery driver!

Extortionists

Worked all my adult life until I fell ill in 2015 which meant I had to apply for Housing Benefits and Council Tax reduction which was sorted quickly no issue . Then in 2023 I moved into my own flat (SBC) council and obviously had to change address but circumstances remained the same with physical conditions now so debilitating I live in chronic pain. I’m mostly bed bound and find life very difficult now. My first year was ok until the following year I received the new council tax bill. Straight online to update my account and upload required documents in March to receive a summons in May for non payment of CT.
I phoned immediately the day I received summons. Eventually I got through to someone clearly working from home with children screaming in the background. I explained that my circumstances hadn’t changed, I was unable to pay the CT bill but had updated my online account with required documentation back in March. The worker stated she couldn’t do anything from home but would send my account back for review and to wait to hear from them. I was a wreck and so worried that I called again the following day to be put through to someone who stated that her colleague had indeed passed my account for review and I was to expect a letter in the post. That letter came yesterday. CT was updated but court cost of £60 was left on. Once again I phoned and couldn’t get through . By now I’m exhausted. Most of the day the phone rang out before eventually getting through to someone again working from home with a lot of noise in the background. This person was really rude stating , ‘the £60 is for filing the paperwork and nothing can be done, you have to pay’. When I said I was on disability benefits and would struggle to find £60, she said I would have to phone another department and arrange a payment plan. I asked why I should have to pay for court costs when it clearly wouldn’t be going to court now (Date of June 13th) and was told ‘cost could not be erased’. Paperwork was already filed with the courts. I stated that I had completed my part by filling out the online forms and uploading required documentation (rent and disability payments) and why had it not been acknowledged despite receiving emails stating the paperwork was received. She rudely said ‘I don’t know but the court costs stand’. I’m so shocked. I did what I was asked to do but still received a summons and still have to pay court costs even though it is now not going to court on 13th June. So where does that £60 go? Into someone’s pocket? I am struggling to deal with this one. 1 star because I had to leave one. I’ve never received a court summons in my life (I’m 60 years old) and this has terrified me because I’m worrying bailiffs will be sent. A shocking way to deal with someone.
EDIT: 4 emails and 3 phone calls and still not dealt with

If I could give 0 stars i would. Long story short, I had cancelled my green bin subscription in March, it's now the 23rd of may and its been collected. I have phoned every few weeks to be told there's no date given I can follow the progress online, checked online and case was closed with description new bin delivered, had phoned to query this as waiting for it to be collected and no new bin delivered. Was then told it was a mistake there end, case reopened and new calender month begins still no collection of green bin. Have phoned to see if it would be collected at any point. This has been ongoing for 8 weeks. Not forgetting every night I have to wheel the bin out onto the road/near the road so they could collect it, as was told I need to make sure it was visable. I finally spoke to an advisor who had email the waste company to find out when they would be collecting the bin. He had told me on the call they would call me, they didn't. Last call was today speaking to another advisor which got me know where, I then asked for a manager to talk to me and was then told they've spoken to the company who would collect the bin today. This has been a total waste of time back and forth all over wanting a green bin collected.

My waste wheelie bin has been stored and emptied from the same position for the last 5 years without issue. But now, following a change in collection days SBC are refusing to empty, stating its being left in the wrong location! No explanation for this change in decision after 5 years, just refusal to empty leaving me with surplus waste accumulating over the Xmas holidays.
SBC imposed parking zones outside our cottages several years ago meaning on collection days, accumulation of bins on a single person walkway and the bumper to bumper parking in these adjacent zones is a health and safety issue. Pedestrians are forced onto the main highway to pass, in full darkness during winter months as this is a rural area without street lighting. As a result my bin has been left on a courtyard entrance area, adjacent to the public pathway fully accessible but not blocking it. But common sense does not prevail here only the demands of the council to meet their targets.
Some two way communication to discuss actions and any change in stance would go along way to negating this situation. Dictation and withdraw of service without fair consideration are not actions expected from a democratic public sector service. Will l get a reduction in my service fees for the missed collections and inconvenience... l think not!

To be fair, one style is too much. Their live well service is absolutely disgusting. They re supposed to help people live well. They don't. They treat you like insolent children that have not done as they are told, even when you explained the members of staff that you not been able to due to pain. Applying for a disabled bus pass means that the person is disabled now if it was as easy for a disabled person to just go to the Doctors and get a letter. We would not be applying for disabled bus passes and we would not be asking for help
Please treat people with respect.As you demand respect in return

Swindon Homeline: Disgusting!! Refused to come and help a 92 year old that fallen and badly broke her ankle! All they care about is making money people pay for this every month!! Do not use!

Why do we have signs saying welcome to the Swindon shopping centre. To me it looks like Swindon Borough Council are running down the town centre. What is happening to the short, medium and long range planning. Do we not have the business and development capability within the work force. All I ever see is less services and less ambition to turn the town around. Even the basic things like road sweepers have been cut out from the services. Mind you you think it's okay to buy the service when someone complains. Council tax goes up services go down, I always thought you improve services for people not remove them and pocket the extra money. Is the process of the Swindon Council workforce to go to work take the salary and do nothing because that's what I see.

Well what a experience my mother had a fall when released from hospital we had carers and social workers who were more interested in who owns the house and how much money do you have in the bank while they were discussing you won’t get her out of here with the daughter here and getting us in separate rooms while trying to obtain bank details from my sick mother when I said I do not need carers anymore I was threatened with court action then my direct debit was changed to 800 month for council tax then to be told send in bank details and we will reimburse you maybe if the police department did proper forensics when a ederly lady ends up on the floor and a neighbour breaks in the house and register his car to her house and on her credit report and constantly Harrasment trying to get her out to make a killing on her old house to revenivate and steal her identity at the same time maybe we should be investigating the true criminal and not the venerable old ladies very dangerous to take all their pension they could have starved with no food or not paid important bills like phones electricity

Me and my mum are living in a total hobble it’s dirty mouldy and damp we moved in last year 12th June the council told us it’s a lovely flat as the weeks tuned into months we’ve both noticed the rising of mould in both bedrooms we have told them numerous times to help us but there was no way they would do it!

Moved to Badbury Park last year nice area handy for everything. However the Bin collection or lack of it has been disgusting. We live next to Balancing Pond and last Thursday and bins once again not collected until this morning. On Friday someone had emptied a Blue plastic bag full of rubbish in the Pond area ( taken pictures} no excuse for this but perhaps frustration. We are retired and pay shedloads in Council Tax but receive rubbish service. I sense a rebellion brewing so Swindon please get your act together. Brian.

Been trying to get help from this organization for over a week. Promised return phone calls never happen and they pass you from pillar to post. The staff must be the most unhelpful I have ever had to deal with .

I don’t usually write reviews but I am absolutely shocked by Swindon borough council! I moved to Swindon in July last year and it took 3 months for them to supply us with a general waste wheelie bin, no remorse shown or help given. They had also made us pay the full years council tax from even though we moved here on the 28th of July! Our bins have always been left for ages without being emptied, and when they are rubbish is all over the road. We went away on Monday the 29th of Jan and came back today (1st of Feb) to see our bin hadn’t been emptied by everyone else on the street had. I went to report this and apparently it’s too late??? It’s been 2 days. Absolutely shocking.

Recycling collection 8 days later not fully collected. Rude staff at SBC. Why do we even pay council tax as the service provide by actually every part of SBC is worse than 1 in scale of 1000.

So many missed waste collections, it's unreal.
So much rubbish blowing around the streets for the weeks you told us to leave it outside, In poorly conceived, very light fabric sacks? You couldn't make this up.
Get a grip!