Wandsworth Borough Council Reviews 23

We moved into the Wandsworth Borough last year and, having lived under three different councils before, the difference with Wandsworth has been striking.

The overall standard of services is genuinely excellent. The streets are consistently clean and well maintained, and there is a clear sense that the council takes pride in the local environment.

What has impressed us most is their great communication and actions.
On a few occasions (including today), we contacted the Council about minor issues, and each time the experience was surprisingly positive. Waiting times were very short, and every representative was attentive, and importantly effective actions were taken within 24 hours!

Overall, a very smooth and reassuring experience as new residents. Wandsworth sets a high bar for what local council services should look like and we are very proud and grateful.

I reported a faulty street light on the Wandsworth Council website. I was not expecting any action for 3 or 4 weeks but withing 48 hours the light bulb was changed! I'm still in shock.

With the scammers in thus country with locksmiths, building,etc I think the council owe it to people who pay council tax meaning home owners should have good decent workman for the borough and even charge a small charge then at least they wont be scammed its getting terrible in England now clearly its got worse ,England was a trust worthy place when you needed a work person now its criminals abuseding people .

I had problems with my council tax .they took monie out of my account which was a lot more than I expected being a pensioner I was upset
Went to council the girls there are so helpfull and very understanding .i got it all sorted they could see I was very agitated .they really understood how I was feeling .couldn’t thank them enough
I forgot to ask the girls name who helped me
Very good service ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

: Overcharged for 20+ years – still not refunded
I was wrongly charged by Wandsworth Council (as a Thames Water reseller) for surface water drainage that was never provided. After raising the issue, I received a partial rebate in 2017, but over £800 is still owed.
Despite repeated complaints, I’ve been spoken to in a dismissive and unprofessional way, told to “chase Thames Water,” and left without a full resolution. The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) confirmed I should have received six years’ rebate, not five.
In my view, this amounts to mischarging, if not fraud. I’ve escalated to Stage 2 and now to the Ombudsman, but after more than 20 years of overcharging, I am still fighting for what I am owed.
Tenants and residents deserve transparency and fairness — not to be ignored or overcharged.

They could not manage a paper bag. Completely useless bunch of complete morons, who do not care a jot about the people who live in their ramshackle flats and houses. If you are one, join the forum to get justice from this mafia outfit. Its a disgrace that they get away with so much utter negligence.

You would think that a government entity would show integrity.

Grievances are useless as they all seem tohave each others back in the end ( in my opinion) Yes you can give it over to the Ombudsman, yet it can take years to have an answer.

There isnt anyone to hold them accountable and it shows.
Getting a response can take weeks for certain departments and only after you contact them over and over again.

If i would do this at my job, i would have lost my job a long time ago.

In my opinion and from my experience, the council lacks of competent employees with integrity.
Quick to take your money but refusing to deliver.

Fantastic bulk collection service
Collected a bundle of things too big to get rid of - free of charge as well which was amazing - and the collection staff were really kind and helpful as well. Great service - thank you very much

Been complaint about missed rubbish collection for over 9 mths now the rubbish guys have been intimidating and abusive verbally and the contractors have done nothing about it , I ring every week without fail and all I get is excuses or they don’t take rubbish from a wheelie bin which I know this but of my rubbish is out on pavement and they deliberately pass by it an leave it what am I suppose to do except put it back in the bins I now have two weeks of rubbish in my back garden which they left on porpose all because 9 mths ago I asked the Jamaica guy who was picking up the bag an flung it over the fence which the bag ripped an dropped all over my front gate I asked ru gna clean that as I’m gna get blame for it he replied uno white people think you can tell me what to do f off and used other disgusting unprofessional language that I can’t put in here as it’s not allowed , I was disgusted as I didn’t give him no verbal all I said was wow is that how you speak to a woman well I’m not afraid of your talk as I have a Jamaican partner so Yh but I will be reporting you an he said gwan now so ever since that incident he has made it a point to walk pass my rubbish an leave it there and the white guy who drive the trust encourages his behaviour I spoken and reported to their head contractors and nothing has been done about it
It is stressing me out and making my mental health worse and my anxiety I now have tree today more than 4 times to ask to speak to a manager and he refused to speak to me so now I’m going to make this ho viral as I do t have the energy anymore for their intimidation
When they are out side picking up the rubbish they guys see me an make snide remarks and laugh it’s very unfair

Council Tax Office. Extremely helpful and informed. Empathetic attitude towards my needs due change of circumstances.

Yet again another missed food waste collection. Had problems when the system started, then it was OK for about 5 weeks, but it back to normal 2nd consecutive missed collection
Come on wandsworth, happy to do new scheme, but I am loosing incentive

Tried to get a resident parking permit for months and months and they're just so unresponsive... I feel totally ignored, still haven't been given any solution to move forward, and they are simply unable to help on the most basic questions related to their department. Absolute nightmare. I'd move away only to stop having to deal with them.

My experience involves the administration under Valerie Asafu-Agyei, Zeshaun Qureshi, Dave Worth, Robyn Bostock and Anne Brown who have repeatedly denied fundamental rights to security, forced relocation due to violent crime, and social assistance, deliberately ignoring their institutional duties and leaving me exposed to serious risks.

What is happening is not an isolated case. The overwhelming number of complaints against this department demonstrates a pattern of abusive conduct, where victims are silenced, ignored, or discouraged from seeking justice.

For this reason, I am bringing together others who have suffered violations of their rights within this department or other institutional sectors. If you have faced or are currently facing negligence, persecution, abuse of power, or obstruction of rights within Wandsworth Council, you are not alone.

I am acting as a Litigant in Person and leading legal actions to expose and hold accountable the public officials involved. My help is honest, transparent, and guarantees absolute confidentiality. You will never be exposed against your will.

My goal is to give a voice to people who cannot be heard. This reflects my personal experience: I am only being heard because, through great effort and by my own means, I created the conditions to take this case to court. But I know how difficult this is, and for many people, it is completely impossible.
I am here to ensure that others do not have to live in anguish and frustration due to institutional abuse. You have the right to be heard and respected.”

M. Z.

Litigant in Person | Disabled (PIP-12) | Wandsworth Council Tenant |
Survivor of an Attempted Murder Deliberately Ignored and Uninvestigated

The Wandsworth Council is engaged in a practice that resembles live bait fishing, utilizing Clarence Ln(SW15 5PJ) street as a trap without adequate signage or markings. This street appears to be one of the few remaining in London where partial parking on the sidewalk is permitted. In this parking area, there are poles and trees lacking clear indications. Rather than establishing supportive conditions for drivers and safeguarding pedestrians, the council seems to deliberately neglect such measures. It appears that traffic officers wait for drivers to leave before promptly measuring the space to issue fines, often accompanied by photographic evidence.
After I submitted a challenge, I received confirmation that it would be considered; however, I did not receive any further communication regarding my challenge. A month later, I was notified to pay the full amount due. This suggests they deliberately waited 14 days to deny me the opportunity for a reduced fine while failing to respond to my initial appeal. Consequently, I filed a second challenge but only received acknowledgment of its initiation. Another month passed before I received a letter indicating that failure to pay within a specified timeframe would result in the case being escalated to court or an invitation for me to apply myself.
Faced with this situation and perceiving it as an attempt to extract money unjustly, I promptly acted by submitting evidence of ignored complaints along with photographs demonstrating that out of ten vehicles parked, mine alone had been fined. On the day of the trial, it became evident that decisions had already been made prior to my arrival; I was informed that I was at fault and had no recourse but to pay the fine. When raising concerns about delayed responses and expressing frustration over being compelled to pay in full due to apparent negligence on part of the officer, their response was dismissive—they claimed they could do nothing.
When I inquired who else could possibly scrutinize this situation thoroughly, they stated no one could and concluded our conversation abruptly. Having grown up in Ukraine, such experiences would not surprise me there; however, it is worth noting that certain practices exist elsewhere—such as in Italy—where drivers may find temporary signs and fines placed on their vehicles after returning from parking without prior notification of restrictions.
Furthermore, should all drivers be mandated to carry measuring tapes? Before imposing penalties or requiring compliance from individuals, conditions conducive for proper understanding must first be established! It is my hope that government authorities will take notice of these issues.

This has got to be one of the worst councils I have had the misfortune of having to deal with. The Finance team are unsympathetic robots who have nothing better to do than be as difficult as they can as they believe that everyone they deal with is fraudulent! I've never come across such a poor experience in my life. I can't say it is all staff in this instance but the abundance of negative experiences outweighs any good and if I could give them 0 stars I would do. A complete overhaul is required!

Wandsworth so called "Quick Start" was a sad joke. Occupational therapist who visited spent most of her time trying to insist on completely different processes than the patient (elderly and with dementia) could follow. Seemed inexperienced (no understanding of dementia, can you believe???) and only following the diktats of the system rather than trying to find ways that would actually work.

As a result, necessary services were denied! None of those who contacted me appeared actually willing to help, only looking for ways not to support those suffering and in pain! Their ugly practice of calling with 'number withheld' made them seem even more inadequate.

By contrast, the district nurses - one visited daily - were reliable, polite and efficient.

I made a phone call to correct the dates and charges for the council tax. Although the waiting time was rather long, the male customer service representative was extremely helpful in resolving the issue. It's a shame I didn't ask for his name. I'd like to express my gratitude to the gentleman I spoke with at 3 PM on 29th July.

Housing caseworkers are absolutely useless. Never be homeless in this borough! This has been going on since FEBRUARY
Disgrace. ATP I really need to know what I have been paying taxes for for the last 3 decades

Wandsworth council are a waste of space on every front. Maybe if someone there could speak English it would be helpful. Nothing dealt with, they just find an excuse to bat it back and noone signs their names to their letters or emails. The entire shambles needs to be taken down and rebuilt, particularly the planning department. Council tax may be cheaper than other boroughs, but we still don't get what we pay for, it's a rip off.

For the attention of Mr BARRY SELLERS - Senior/Principal Planner at Wandsworth's LPA "Urban Design and Conservation Section"

Prevented from saving my Oak I'm forced to risk "Acts of God" Disasters

Answering a complex email I wrote to Wandsworth LPA's Enable tree officers manager on 06.06.2023 I gratefully received his assurance that my Oak's envisaged Planning App. would be treated "as fairly as all other applications we receive". For I've been suffering bad experiences with international + local neighbour-developers ["Devs"] trying to bankrupt me out of my home of 52+years since 2002. eg They often using matters re one of their own trees between 2002-2021; which maybe why the manager also sent a copy of his reply to Barry Sellers on 12 June?

TODAY I happily read online Barry Sellers "A 21st Century Tree Strategy for Wandsworth". But I did find one possible scenario missing from it. ie The status quo of my 3-4 storey high 100-year-young Robur Oak in my private garden in a Conservation Area [designated so in 1992]. For its branches partially overhang St Cecilia's C of E School side driveway beside its 2021-built new classroom Block. And:

With c.1000 persons at different times able to use that driveway and classrooms, including members of the PUBLIC, any one or more of them could conceivably suffer horrific consequences due to possible failures of the Oak's ?many diseased branches or even main stem.
And when the Public are threatened by a Dangerous Tree [as I Notified + a Report to the LPA in my Planning App. 2024/0217 on 22 Jan this year] Enable officers legally should act quickly.

Some of the Oak's vast trunk-like sized upper branches display bare, split-bark patches and some are definitely bending + buckling under their own weight for the first time ever. Also I believe both weeping and/or rotting red-brown canker has visibly badly compromised one particular branch [needing to be removed immediately] which I'm prevented from doing by Enable. Whilst crazily:

Both Forestry Commission people and the author of an Unusable £175 forced-upon me ground-view Report [full of lies] told me that I can do whatever I wish with the Tree, lying that it is "Not in a Conservation Area". So I'm left with no-one to trust at all. And No officer has ever come to look at the Oak or advise me. Plus although we are in Enable's Putney/Wandsworth area:

Tree Officer Liam Hutton of Tooting area has insisted that I obtain an expert Report + Specification of Works needed before I can save the Oak from further failing. But my own Notification + Report is of course inadequate and No truthful tree surgeons or surveyors wish to be involved.

FOR A WHOLE YEAR I've been ostracised and/or ignored and last August I wrongfully trusted eg one company to do a Tree-climb Survey - they cancelling a 9th December date one day beforehand; then only on 9th Feb 2024 coming to give me a ground-view quick look.And finally I was sent the useless Report which I'd asked them Not to write and which included ?Devs photos from a different secret, sunny day!

It appears that the mightily powerful real-estate Devs have been scuppering all my efforts to protect St.Cecilia's people, the Public + the Oak's health too. So I can only assume the DEVS ACTUALLY WANT ACTS OF GOD to bring disasters in order to try to legally sue me for negligence + huge damages now Wandsworth's LPA has tied my hands completely. And fine local Tree Surgeons plus Surveyors here work frequently with these highly influential Devs who seem to have groomed them to ignore and/or deceive me.

Thus I'm left literally legally awaiting any major "Acts of God" which I pray [in all directions] may not harm any humans or property at St.Cecilia's School or at other neighbours properties at 23, 25 + 27 Sutherland Grove; all of whom could possibly suffer badly.

from - MJ - [Mrs M J Tirimo: Mon 06.05.2024]