Walsall Council

At first glance you could say that Walsall Council appears underfunded. This would explain the severe lack of service in every area that you would expect from a council.

This changes when you realise that pay rises are at an all time high, especially higher up the chain. You realise that the lack of service is explained quite simply by the fact that those in charge are greedy.

Street light out? Road got potholes? Why fork out money to fix these issues when one of these council bosses can get their hands on another holiday home take from their extortionate bonus.

Still not got enough for the new car though have they? They have another solution for that! Listen up residents of Walsall, your council tax is going up x% this year because we said so.

The only possible excuse for their dismal performance is that they are badly underfunded for the activities they are required to do. However their performance suggests that their ambition to pay their workers peanuts is attracting the predicted standard of employees.

For example the Council fails to respond to communications from people living in the borough. Frequetly supposed 7 working days response time seems to stretch to over one calendar month and still there is no reply. Other issues involve telephone messages promising to ring back and answer customer comments, queries or complainants are like piecrust, made only to be broken. Their Website fails to work as specified ... full of errors and web forms that freeze losing customer inputs ... others like instructions to read this FAQ with no link to the FAQ despite it being in a list of FAQs to read before proceeding ... their inability to do jobs properly is amazing. They set workers unreachable targets and then fail to get them to actually do what they are supposed to do. Unless one complains repeatedly services are not delivered as specified, as the council the quid pro quo for unrealistic work loads is a failure of supervision which results in poor quality or working in a slipshod manner to complete their task in the allotted time by an underpaid and overworked workforce, most of whom try to keep a 'show on the road'.

I suspect that many competent employees have left, begged for redundancy or taken to drink. Managerial incompetence has become the norm as people take on responsibilities for areas in which they have little or no experience, knowledge or competence.

Helpful staff on reception, they gave good advice and contacted correct person who came down with answer to my question. Even provided letter as proof for me.

Walsall Council MOT Test Centre in Brownhills

19/10/2020

Took my car there today for its MOT and the level of customer service I received from the MOT testing technician 'H' was exceptional. Not only is the place spotlessly clean with very good waiting facilities for customers, but the three bays they use are kept immaculate. Now back to H, I watched him do my test through the viewing window and you can see the way he goes about the job he is a very experienced technician. Then after about 10 minutes he came out to me (covid compliant, mask on etc) with a work light he found under the bonnet, it was mine which I forgot about a few days ago! He went back to complete the MOT and I watched him inspect the exhaust, then he went to get something from some draws at the back of the bays. He then spent a few minutes doing something at the front and back of the exhaust. Continuing on I watched as he checked the brakes on the rolling road etc. Then as the test looked like it was over H went back to his draws and started doing something on the side of the car, again just a few minutes. The test was now over and my car parked back in the MOT parking bays outside. H came over to me to tell me that it had passed and then went on to say the new exhaust I had fitted a week earlier had not been completely sealed at the joints a there was a very slight blow at the front and back so he rubbed in a bit of sealing putty he had in the bay. Not only that but he put a new bulb in my side flasher! I was so grateful and offered to give H something for his trouble and the bulb etc but he would not accept anything. I have never had such level of service in all the 44 years of various MOT providers. Needless to say you have a customer for life and there are four cars in my household. Plus I will recommend to everyone. You are lucky to have such a wonderful, skilled and experience technician in 'H'.

Trevor Gibbons
Streetly
Ordinary general public motorist

Cuts everything for art then doesn't send out information to people affected by the benefits cut

"No one available to take your call"..call back later!!! Rude receptionist! 10 in the morning!..Jobs worth! & this is after listening to ALL of the oppions to get through to the appropriate department! Joke!

Taxi licensing is great service... the staff are helpful and patient. Quick service.

Awful customer service, dont even bother trying to call this council, I have called various times throughout the years and waited in queues for over 40 min, and when its my turn they hang up straight away before I even get to speak, horrendous I've given up on calling..its so rude

Architecturally beautiful building with friendly and helpful staff.

I was on the phone about an hour rying half an hour to get to school admission, no one answer the phone,very disappointed

Total waste of time!! Fill up on parking as you're going to need it!
You could alternatively call and get....
Press 1 for pressing more numbers.
Press 2 for someone to put you through to the correct department
Press 3 to pay a parking fine (that you probably got visiting our offices )
Press 4 if you're having a nervous breakdown because of our phone system and waiting times......

Useless. You can't even get a lampost painted or large trees pruned! Lazy and incompetent. Just full of excuses so they dont have to do anything!

Rude staff even though I was polite and apologetic. They need to stop looking down their nose at people.

Leaves on both sides of Victoria Rd .Walsall council.are quick to remove leaves from certain parts of Walsall but always leave this road a mess.No brown bins until April yet we can have as many as 30 bin bags of leaves to remove ourselves off our front gardens facing the common.Age of residents in this.Rd. mainly pensioners 60-95yrs of age .

The school admission is the worst. You can't talk with them because there's only automatic phone. You can contact them only email. The fastest answer is after 10 days. Nightmare. School is ready to take us, but can't because waiting for council answer. I don't know what they are doing. Children can't go to school, can't learn... Nightmare, nightmare, nightmare!!!

Requested a bigger bin three days ago and received the new one this morning. Great service and communication!

I keep receiving mail for a previous tenant that use to live at my property. ( you would think Walsall Council would have the common sense to know when I moved in, the previous tenant no longer lives here. As two single tenants cannot live in the same property claiming separate council tax benefit. ( advisor didn't understand what I mean I cannot be any clearer than that). I've recently moved and once again her mail seems to follow me. I've emailed and called Walsall Council stating that, they need to stop sending her mail to me as I'm not this person. They need to get in contact with other departments within their establishment, including electrol, to allocate this person. Advisor told me they cannot do this or have access to or cannot get in contact with electrol.. very strange as I haven't heard that one before. All theses resources and technology we have in this world today, and Walsall Council cannot track down previous claimant who owes them money?? Pretty disgusting, been advised to return the mail and put not know at this address, which I had already advised the advisor I had been doing . Thank you for tell me something I already know and not being able to help me.

I hope this is the place I need to hand my vote registration form to...

Can someone tell me if they are still open to the public

Tried ringing about dog fouling in my area.what a joke was on phone for 30 minutes I gave up.walsall council you are useless

Where to start?? Seem unable to manage themselves or their finances! Just inflates council tax rates every year, cuts more and more... but always manage to give themselves a nice little payrise in the process. Walsall is a blight on the midlands and you have this council to thank for that...

Tax enquiry advisers act like you are commiting fraud for disclosing info of which in reality is true and accurate

The most incompetent local authority I've ever had to deal with.

They lost my previous landlords illegal Section 21 notice.
The lady I saw didn't log my visit.
They allocated man who was on good family terms with the landlord, we complained as he did not to nothing; no reply.
The same man 'lost' my proof we were up to date with our rent several times, and the landlord actually owed us money for repair work he avoided doing.

They get 1 star as the two people in the housing section who bothered to help did a stirling job.

Very snoty Asian woman..!
Bin men refused to take my bin..! Yet again... I cant see the problem!! Been told to put it back in my garden, where we have already seen rats...!! Yet again nothings been done ! What a great helpfull council we have!!

The system they use to send council tax and housing benefit statements/bills are possibly the most complicated and panic inducing bills I have ever received. Even a nice lad on the phone admitted that the bills are too complicated. Apparently they are automatically generated sometimes and sent out? So i ended up getting bloody loads of bills and I had a massive anxiety attack.

Thank you walsall lightning department for fixing light on bloxwich road ...

. Keep you in the queue for 40 minutes and when is your turn they closed.