Ashford Borough Council - A Better Choice For Electrical Services

No elections this year but council tax still on the rise. Staff are good though

If I could leave no stars I would. Customer service team do not seem to be trained properly, I ask to speak to someone in a certain department and I am put through to someone totally different who cannot help me. Some staff in the housing department are rude when you ask a question or are trying to find out information, that's also if anybody bothers to reach out at all. I also rang repairs and asked them to kindly replace my bathroom light it's in casing and due to my disability I am unable to climb to sort it. The girl in repairs was extremely patronising on the phone and then said " I have to ask but can't you or someone else do it" . It got me extremely annoyed because if I could manage or I had someone who could fix it, I wouldn't have gone to the trouble of asking repairs. She arranged through gritted teeth to send someone out. I dread phoning the council for anything now, as I come off of the phone feeling worse than I did before I reached out.

bin men who collect around beecholme drive need to respect the customer and do there job what they get paid for they left all the bins in the car park and did not bring them back down to the houses the young lad and the driver where ok but the older chap got aggressive when i asked him why he did not bring them back down to the houses i'm disabled and had to get it from up in the car park is this what i pay my council tax for to be spoken to and treated like this

Appalling excuse for a government department (and you really don't expect much anyway!) We left the borough, they took 8 weeks to calculate the council tax refund we were due, then it didn't arrive, I found out it was yet another form to fill in to then apply to get the calculated refund money back! Which is another 8 week wait. How many people are not given the refunds they are due - the amount of hours it has taken me is huge. This is a DISGRACE. You deliberately make it so elongated and complex to get a refund. I love how when you move into the borough they start helping themselves to your bank account INSTANTLY though. You should be utterly ashamed. You utter disgrace of a council department.

Moved To Civic Centre

Moving To Civic Centre

I would like to exchang to 3 bed house out of Ashford any house so if anybody wants to exchange to 1 bedroom flat I got 2 sons that live with me they need there own bedroom so if you hear please get in contact with me Jill Mason

NO COMPASSION enquired about my council tax being wrong lost my husband and very upset at having to make this call.The person I spoke with couldn’t care less I was crying over the phone and at 81 I found this VERY UPSETTING that all she could do was tell me it was my fault because I hadn’t let them know there was now only one person in the household.I had filled in ONLY TELL US ONCE so this should have been enough to deal with my council tax but to HER she knows who I mean could only tell me it was my fault.One day I hope she feels like I felt then she might think twice before getting on her HIGH HORSE and show a little thought to what the person on the phone is going through.I HOPE YOU READ THIS

Sorted my housing. Grateful.

4 years my conservatory has been leaking, i have complained multiple times, had various small fixes done, two years ago they said i needed a new roof. They sent the wrong people out and then when they came to replace the roof it had to be rescheduled then i was never contacted. Claimed they lost the file so complained again year 2022 people came out, told them it needs replacing did small fixes again, last year i rang them again they came out and did a humidity test said it was bad, this year there's a new supervisor dennis says it'll be fixed by September sends people out to turn the electric off due to a plug being in there near a puddle, then i find out they are claiming they caught fleas from my conservatory that has been empty for 4 years (as they didn't stay in my house or touch my cats who are treated each month ) paying over 600£ to be treated like this as a disabled person with severe allergies to mold and an autistic child in the house too. Feel extremely let down and unheard.it is now leaking inside my house too through the seal of the sliding door since early October and it's now early December so I'm having to file a second formal complaint,I was told this year my roof would be fixed by August/latest September and it is now December. This has been happening since December 2020.

15 years of being an abc tenant 15 years of mould and damp in this 1 bedroom property had one of there specialist surveyor out on the 22nd October 2024 and I’m suprised he doesn’t walk around with a white stick because he’s report stated no damp and mould problems in the bedroom well blow me down must just be the ghost who has really muddy boots because it sure does look like mould to me did a formal complaint but the reply was no there’s no damp and mould in your bedroom because the blind guy told us so formal complaint number 3 in the last year incoming!!

Absolutely useless, can't get hold of them via telephone, town centre is abysmal and full.of nail bas and barbers, constant roadworks that are poorly thought out, anytime you have a good business they charge way too much for rental space which is crazy, the lack of common sense from the whole of ABC is shocking, I could do a better job with my eyes closed like most people who live in Ashford.

These lot couldn't care less about it's tenants you try and reach out to them about an issue and you get nowhere just pushed from one person to another nobody actually does their job in this place.

Does any one actually work at this place? ive called 8 times over the past month each time requesting a callback as no one answers the phone. filled in the contact form twice and again nothing. im trying to pay my council tax bill but dont know my council tax number. i used to get a letter with it each year now all i get is a very short text saying you owe us xx amount of tax, but give me no way to pay it.

Willesborough, Ashford TN24 0DS Date 08/05/24 Whole street Household Rubbish not collected. Reported to council. Completely ignored. Today came 15/05/24 Week later and still nobody collected Normal rubbish. Whole street rubbish everywhere. Next step dump rubbish by council building front door.

Parked in one of the car parks paid for a ticked and parked my motorbike along side a family members car who was in the disabled space I was then fined for blocking the disabled bay. I then emailed to let them know I had proof of it being a relatives car and that I was saving other spaces for other members of public as it was a lovely hot day and very busy. They did not accept this and now I have to pay £35 and still paid for the parking! Absolutely disgusting behaviour anything for a bit of money !!!

Never answer the phone calls

Good facilities and access helpful staff

The worst council service I have used. No one answers the phone? Quick to send you letters but trying to deal with issues and getting through with phone calls is an exhausting waist of time. Also trying to use the Internet to deal with matters is even more confusing? Please bring back real human beings that actually care🙏

I raced after the bin lorry with my food caddy......Guess what!!!! They only had a single recycling unit....poor chap didn't know what was happening, thought there may be a separate vehicle taking the food waste. When I walked back there were two houses with empty caddies, my neighbours and mine hadn't been emptied, my neighbour the other side and the next house had been....HOW CAN YOU MISS OUT SOME AND EMPTY OTHERS... All boils down to money, cheaper company but no idea what they are doing..Biffa did just fine.

Rubbish as always, don’t even know why I bother with them anymore !!

A council that let fly tipping in an industrial scale goe unpunished for a number of years in a protected site such as Hoads wood to happen for years must be beyond incompetent to say the least

There bin men are not doing the bins properly and they have been rubbish blown everywhere where and even in people’s gardens 😡

Absolutely useless to contact.Wrong information on website and forget about trying to speak to anyone.I’m not sure if there’s anyone at their offices or still working from home.If this was a private company in competition it would have gone bust years ago

Nothing like turning your town into a slum is there? I’ve just seen Ashford Unframed on the BBC News, and it is appalling. How the council is encouraging once and vandalism by defacing walls! It’s as bad as fly tipping….

Not even an email you can reach out to.

Absolutely ridiculous never found a website so useless

Allowing a neighbour to run a cash in hand business from a residential home without making him declare it which is tax evasion and fraud, also never maintaining the cracks and potholes in the local streets. Pathetic people who threaten anyone who goes to the ombudsman because of years of incompetence. We will be seeking further action.

Personally I find ABC the best Borough Council I’ve ever lived in. Very user friendly website & they use far less paper than other councils.

I had a money 'situation' that freaked me right out amd was put in contact with ABIGAIL ROBINSON from the benefits dept.What a beautiful human being she is.She listened to my concerns which were making me VERY stressed.Then went to great pains to reassure me and gave me practical advice on how to handle the situation .Abigail listened patiently ,was VERY sympathetic amd went out of her way to reassure me that things would be OK, she didnt rush me and was extremely patient. Thankyou ABIGAIL . I so hope that ABC acknowledge her extraordinarily positive ,cheerful and kindly manner in dealing with people who are often times very stressed.She also had a sense of humor which trust me she would have needed.I also hope she is kept where the public have access to her because she made the difference to me between being able to cope or NOT !! THANKYOU ABIGAIL ROBINSON

The council employ a lovely lady in HR ,her name is Mrs.Susanna Aiano. I had dealings with her and she went out of her way to help me. The council get such 'bad press' but my personal experience of this lady is that she was completely straight with me, informative , helpful and kind and these qualities ARE necessary when dealing with the public particurlaly when a stressful situation has occurred as had happened in my case .Susanna was very calming and clear in her information amd took the trouble to ' 'check in' on me on occasion.This made such a difference ,knowing that the council aren't just 'machines' churning out information ,but the human touch is still very much alive.Thankyou SUSANNA AIANO for being a kind and gentle human being...I HOPE ASHFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL acknowledge your devotion to representing them on a very human level and bringing a good 'vibe ' to public relations .You have been greatly appreciated by one very stressed member of the public and your reassurance went a long way to my DEstressing

Genuinly disgusting and money grabbing. Find it hard to believe humans even work here. Expected a 10 year old in the dark to be waiting on the roadside alone!

😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬 shut road all over Ashford I live 5mins away from my work and finish late at night. but had to drive 9 miles around Ashford to get home this is the 3rd time this week!! Not happy 🤬🤬🤬🤬

Dreadful customer services, if your lucky enough to get through to someone normally it's the wrong someone. .

Shame on you Ashford council for turning Ashford into a ghost town! Dimly lit streets and parking machines that are virtually impossible to read or operate at night. Confusing parking bays and dreadful signage. You should receive an award for being the worst council in Kent!

Very helpfull staff and grant committee extremely helpfull.

I have been chasing Ashford Council for my invoice and its been more than 1 month and i have not recieved my invoice yet, I want to pay my bills and still waiting for a response, this is really pathetic service, i am also waiting for a refund of my previous year council tax which i have still not recieved, please look into this and help me out!

the restrictions at the recycle centre are totaly over the top its outside and people wear masks, the result is an explosion of people fly tipping plus long waits to get in the centre, heres a suggestion let in six cars at a time maintain distance of 2m ,not difficult

They take your Council Tax but offer a very poor service! In the past month our rubbish and garden waste has not been collected. There has been no communication from the council as to why and can’t take it to the council tip without making an appointment. No wonder there is a problem with fly tipping.

They remember you only when you have to give them money, after you've paid them you don't exist, literally they don't even bother to fulfil their legal obligations towards you. A bucket of leeches and maggets, this is Ashford Council from Kent!

Such a lovely council especially compared to Th*net council 🤮 if I could move back to Ashford I would

None. They wasn't open

Jobsworth

The local HWRC is a profit center for the contractor, the lockdown closure was unjustified, unnecessary and resulted in a huge increase in fly tipping. The cleanup of the self inflicted mess will be profit for the contractor and total disregard for communal needs.

In August last year i got a section 21 from my landlady who wants to sell so my daughter and i go to council and spoke to someone ( im not naming names) my daughter asked about putting me up in a b&b according to this person it wud b to much fast-forward i get told by the court they want me out by the 7th thats next Tuesday theres a woman im meant to contact but shes not easy to get hold off and shes the woman im meant to contact 😡

I have to say since recently moving to Ashford that i have never come across a more helpful friendly and hands on council. When i first arrived one of my bins went missing but this was replaced straightaway and then calling up to have some furniture removed which was done the same week. Always easy to get through to, no waiting or going round in circles with extensions and options for depts that don't pick up. Thank you!

Trying to resolve a parking ticket dispute as ticket was issued after 2mins observing,!!! Not even enought time to get machine and back ticket officer was rude and found it funny. Tryed ringing for over 3 hours and no ansew atall just constantly cut off. Disgrace.

Poor.

Reported online a missing bin on Friday and a bin arrived Monday. Excellent service.

Terrible customer service have to press a number a 1000 times just to be put through to someone. This council is a complete joke never help you always tell you to do stuff on the website instead. Plus the council tax in Ashford is a joke I get one bin collection rotation of recycle and general 1 every two weeks that’s 3 bin bags in my waste bin only!! who only uses 3 black bags of waste for two weeks this council is completely drunk £160 a month of my hard earned money go to this council should be called the GESTAPO

Appalling treatment, offering no support to our family after our grandmother passed away on Thursday. As I live the opposite side of the country now, my disabled sister and her husband have been left to clear the house. Our grandmother lived there over 40 years and its a huge undertaking. They've been offered NO support but threatened with charges if anything is left behind. That home was the family home for 3 generations and that's how you treat people who are grieving. Showing no compassion or care, but rather wanting nothing more than the property back on their roster. You should be ashamed at your negligence, lack of care and compassion.

Very helpful

Very helpful

Ashford is a town in the county of Kent, England. It lies on the River Great Stour at the south edge of the North Downs, about 61 miles southeast of central London and 15.3 miles northwest of Folkestone by road. In the 2011 census, it had a population of 74,204. Wikipedia Population: 58,936 (2001)

The idiots have definitely taken over the asylum. Been left with no heating or hot water over Christmas because the boiler is completely knackered and has been since the summer but the council refuse to give BSW the go ahead to replace it, instead they put more parts in and my calculations this has been around £4000 worth with no improvement. I'm a support worker, my partner is disabled and has a disabled son.