Southwark Council

This is the worst council I have seen in my life I have tried to contact them different numbers most of it doesn't work or they don't answer on it

Southwark council are the worst borough I repeat do not live there whoever is reading trust me

Useless

Southwark is a good council

Awful service. No support for valid reasons for missed payments. No helpful solutions; waiting for hours on hold.

Emailing pointless, several times 21 days to reply and on the day again another 15 days, robotic message. Applied for a jobs so unfair, employees replies from .com platforms on Saturday ( they pay 37 dollars ) to protect there jobs and as always nobody applying. Private courts too across, not understanding current law affairs.

Long waits on phone to repairs. The "one stop shops" have all closed down. And leave tenants with half jobs done and tell them to. "Live with it!" And then ghost them! Emails with ongoing repair issues ignored. Stating job completed when issue returns. No follow up checks. Resident left chasing all the time. Regardless of residents health issues, vulnerability. They cant sort out complex repairs or co-ordinate contractors between each other. There was a lady who worked there previously who cared and was brilliant. Unfortunately it seems the rest of them dont! They hide behind screens not reply to emails. If you are lucky enough to catch a director on phone. They too give same old flanel and do nothing. They dont care about their residents while they go home to their nice homes with with everything in working order.

Got issued a penalty charge notice within 2 minutes by Civil officer Must have been hiding behind a bush or in the alley way waiting to pounce under the cover of darkness. Nice & covert. Surprising none of the other local vehicle got one? Welcome to London.

Parking ticket craze …. Dear Southwark council you could learn a thing or 2 from countries like The UAE for example by investing all that money from parking fines in using instant sms messaging when a PCN is issued & getting bigger .. bolder signage’s at your special parking zones!!

Truly terrible website and contact system. Nearly every payment and form submission I made over the last two years had an IT issue. Often when I tried to follow up by email, I would not get a response for a very long time, if ever.

Worst council of all boroughs. Failing to fix a main communal door which has been reported several times. Doors basically falling off the hinges. Taking people's rent money and not fixing nothing. Hope you all lose your jobs

No one at this place seems to know what they're doing. Emails go unanswered, and when you call, you're passed from one useless agent to another without anyone taking responsibility. This is by far the most incompetent council I've ever had to deal with. Completely useless.

There is a constant humming and vibrating noise coming through our bedroom wall. It sounds like a water pump or some kind of mechanical equipment running continuously. The noise does not stop and is present throughout the day and night, including during the night when we are trying to sleep. This situation has become unbearable. my daughter, and I are all struggling to sleep and as a result we are experiencing headaches stress exhaustion and a significant impact on our daily lives. I am also very disappointed with the way this issue has been handled so far by Southwark repair team. Since last week, three different people have attended, but there has been no proper investigation or resolution. Each person has said that it is not their responsibility and that another team needs to deal with it. I was told that plumbers would attend and investigate, but when the plumber arrived, they only stayed for around one minute and left, saying that it was not their job and that an engineer needed to fix it. There has been no clear communication, no proper assessment, and no effective action taken, Families should not have to live with this kind of ongoing disturbance.

The heating was working last week when the temperature were around 30-34 C Those couple of weeks are much colder and the heating has bot worked a single night make it make sense We had to resort to primal methods for temperature convenience

Planning decision granted within 6 weeks, i.e. two weeks ahead of the time. Comms with planning officer friendly and prompt. Would recommend!

Trying to sort out my council tax, register the moving into the council, called a first time, been told to wait for a letter with an account number. The letter hasn't arrived after two weeks, tried to call again, nobody answer the phone, tried again today after a few days, a woman answered putted me on hold and then hung up, tried to call again and getting directed to a voice mail that is full and can't even leave a message. Is anything happens and my landlord ends up evicting me for missing to pay the council tax when I try to do everything to sort this out I'll take you to court

been trying to get student exemption for my household for months, but each time i fill out the form the website crashes and says a system error has occured. called them and managed to submit it through a different way but lo and behold: court summons mailed to our apartment anyways. the phone line is confusing and hard to use as well, wasting hours of time telling me im the next caller in the queue. where are they sending these calls? antartica?? just insanely ridiculous. how is it my fault i can't send them the files they want through their own faulty systems?

Incompetent staff. I sent an email enquiring about a future repair and instead of simply answering the question they booked in a repair job. (Despite the fact that I clearly stated I was just asking a question and didn't require a repair) Now I'm on hold to the crappy repairs line trying to cancel the appointment and get an answer to my question. I think they just enjoy wasting people's time.

Hello. Hope you are well. Now I called up yesterday. Didn't get thought. I called back. Automated system wouldn't take my call, apparently, it can only call from the same number once a day. There is a work around but if I post it will be blocked 🚫. I don't know if they are the same but repairs don't get done, very unhappy with southwark council. I wish I were elsewhere. Thank you for reading. Have a Blessed day 🙏🏾 26/03/2026

The worst service I’ve ever received. The minefield that is the council tax website and the total backwardness of having an online system that isn’t synced up with the paper letters they supposedly send out is a disgrace. Staff are rude and patronising. The website is down yet again, and somehow we are at fault for unpaid bills when the whole system in place is broken and glitched. If I could give no stars I would.

Useless government council in the UK, charged me an FPN for absolutely no reason and there is no way to contact them, rudest people in the world, and extorting people of their money and resources.

Completely incapable of answering the phone

Not too bad to live in this area

Trying to just speak to someone about council tax, impossible. Worst website in the world too.

Very helpful in resolving a mould issue that real estate Dexters were trying to charge us as tenants for.

Needed to speak to repairs and on hold for an hour and half and gave up. Really need more office staff.

Natasha staple has had me running round in circles for the last 4 months. I’ve been homeless since October. She was rude and abrupt on our telephone meetings. Suggested I could increase my LHA due to my circumstances. Sent me on a goose chase for a oh so important letter (I have little money and had to travel all the way to Birmingham to my old women’s refuge to recieve a letter of proof) shared this letter to Natasha and she just told me I need to give it to Uc. Which infact is incorrect. How can I get a flat if I’m on the wrong LHA? What housing costs have I got to show UC IF I HAVE NO HOUSE? None of what she’s said to me has made any sense this whole time. She shows absolutely no compassion for her clients circumstances. Despite my past, she thought it was appropriate to send me to a shared accomodation with 2 men, which consisted of moldy walls and an awful smell. To which, could have ended up as an unsafe situation. Even though, it’s been made aware what my needs are which is specifically not to be housed in shared accommodation with men. I’m deeply dissapointed by Southwark councils lack of care for vulnerable women like me. I could have been in a property months ago. Instead my mental health is at rock bottom from chronic overwhelm and stress.

Zero stars if that was available, got to be The worst run council in Britain. If only you could swap council like you can swap electricity companies.

I just tried to call up Southwark cancil for three time each time took more then an hour waiting but no answer , for two days we don't have hot water or heating , boiler broken , four times brake down in one month it's really shame 😡😡😡

Possibly the worst run council authority in the city. A terrible website, rude and unprofessional employees, poorly maintained parks and facilities. Had a call about the website which was not working, was told it was working fine and hung up on. Terrible service all round.

Beautiful building. Green trend architecture. A lot of people with different etnic backgrounds. Proffesional people.

The house repair team overall has been very nice and always tries to help as much as they can. I really appreciate their effort and professionalism. However, there is one worker — I believe his name is Darren (or Daryl) — who has been very difficult to deal with. I always try to stay calm and polite, but he seems to look for conflict and becomes confrontational without reason. It’s disappointing, especially when all I’m trying to do is communicate nicely and get repairs done smoothly. I hope the council takes this into consideration, as the rest of the team does a great job, but interactions like this can make the experience unnecessarily stressful for residents

The most inept, disgusting, horrible council in existence. Utter disgrace.

Park everyday outside my school with my blue badge (6months) and the one day I forgot to put it out I get a parking fine, I challenged the fine with a copy of my blue badge and they did not do a gesture of good will. Something similar happened in a shopping centre and they were able to see that and cancel it. The road I park on is not far from bermondsey stn so I'm pretty sure the officer sees my car on a daily as I know they cover that area without a fail. Thank you Edson Passos for your lack of compassion. One way to drive out teaching staff.

One special rule for Rachel Reeves and another for every other landlord when it comes to licences.

If I could leave 0 stars I would. Incredibly RUDE staff, poor service, awful . Michelle and the Spanish guy are extremely rude and will refuse to help you. Crazy that these people are getting paid to do this!

Poor service, poor communication. Does not respect other people's time. Do not understand what an emergency is. Not sure why I even pay council tax.

impossible to get in contact with via phone call or email having to go into the branch tomorrow causing unnecessary stress

Horrible service regarding tennis fields in the area. Firstly, they put the prices up to £9.9 per hour which is immoral and high. Secondly, they give away to trainers and associations half the available slots and normal people can't book anything as slots go away in seconds. They should make the hourly rates much cheaper and ban altogether pre-allocated slots for trainers so that all possible slots are available to book by members of the public.

Being a student I'm exempt from council tax. But they won't get off my bank at it, and now I have to pay up to 500 pound. After emails and 20+ calls this issue is not resolved. I have moved from the stress they give me. I would not live anywhere I have to put up with their rude customer service and lack of brains. Would give 0 stars.

Hang up if you finally get through and it's Michelle or Jackie! Utterly useless, disgusting and downright rude customer service agents who should all be fired! Clearly training isn't a thing over there. Also they increased my bill by making up false information and updated it on their own accord without cross-referencing with me. Also they're professional gaslighters... totally never their fault!

nobody answers the phone

It's not very tourist-friendly around Southwark, particularly when it comes to parking, even at weekends.

Council vehicle blocked pedestrian path with no hazard lights. Gave me a ticket for offloading at the same place for less than 10 mins with my hazard lights on. Double standards, frustrating and all round two tier system despite paying for residents parking permit, there is never any parking. Fed up.

No one answers the phone. Just get disconnected. Have to go to the office for service.

Reported the windows that doesn't close November 2024 me and my son we were frozen to death throughout the winter everytime I call I am told the contractor is coming ... when its windy the windows are wide open when it's raining the rain comes through .. worst council ever and very rude people ...

Call up, bounced around the switchboard, then they hang up. Didn't even get to speak to a real person

Hi, I wanted to send positive feedback for Ibrahim Azam. I submitted an application for an extension on 24th March and received a decision by 30th April, 3 weeks earlier than the given time frame. Not only that, but Ibrahim was communicative and responsive throughout, giving us the opportunity to act on his feedback and adapt the plans to ensure they met local policy. I know a lot of people have had negative experiences with planning, but we had a really positive experience with Ibrahim and wanted to give credit where it's due. We are lucky to have had him as our case officer!

Got whacked with a 37 quid council tax fee as a student. That is, I've been a student since 2021 and will be one until 2027. Live with only students. It's 2025 and they charged me for 6 days worth of council tax from a random week in September 2024. Give them a phonecall and the roundabout conversation goes on for a whopping hour where he pulls random tax account numbers from the thinnest of airs, before he finally says he'll check on it and give me a ring back within 2 days. One week later, no call so I call them instead, wait for 20 minutes on the phone and eventually lo and behold when someone does finally pick up, she says that they're too busy but will call back in a few days. Ended up paying it off to get rid of the bloody ballache but jesus wept, these people are about as competent as a toddler chewing on a bumper pack of crayons.

A failing business, not a council. Outsourced almost everything. May as well fully privatise it and cut the fat, or bring back to the mothership. Zero value and zero compassion.

Inept – sent out incorrect bills, refuse to pick up the phone or take payment online

I recently had a dripping tap in the kitchen and my back door in the kitchen did not lock. Both these repairs were carried out quickly and effectively by the Southwark Council Repair team and the people attending to do the repairs were nice and helpful. Thanks Very much to the Southwark Council Repair team.

The worsest experience I ever had!

I got a Council tax issue, which it seems like wrongly charged in partial. The Council never give any notice and turn the collection straightly to private agency, and the council never receiving calls or emails. While the time, the agency has charged the fee for every each of intervals. In current society, we decided to call this as a SCAM. Really amazing how the council could be this ridiculous and hilarious :)

Got a fine 195 pound. Can you imagine not once did this letter come to my house now it shows up and I have to pay 195 can’t even contest it even doe I have evidence from people I live with no letter has been delivered to my address. Am tired of these scamming councils tired of this government Jesus Christ

Receive a letter telling us to contact them immediately. Attempt to contact them only to be left in a queue for 20 minutes, and then an apathetic rude woman answers to say they will not listen to my query and will not help because "they are busy"! Considering this was at 1445, I would like to know what privileges come with this council job that you can tell people you just won't help them and tell them they will receive a callback on a Monday, despite there still being over 2 hours of office hours left, and despite me stating I must speak to someone immediately and if I "wait till Monday" they threatened to take legal action. Everyone should be fired.

Giving tickets to hard working people who make a mistake going in to wrong road but wasting money to give to people who don’t want to work. Well done 👍

One of the most incompetent Boroughs In London. I do question the qualification of their repair men they do dodgy jobs. Southwark council lies about attempted visit and tries to fine you. Very lazy workers and department . Look at Aylesbury estate no human should live in a building like that.

Getting hung up on by the council is crazy behaviour

stuck on the phone for hours

The council themselves do lovely work maintaining my local parks and keeping them full of plants. They also do great events at the Scoop/Potters Fields which is great. The council website is horrendous and never works and the council themselves never reply to emails. I've been trying to contact them to change my address and to actually pay my council tax but no one has responded for weeks so I can't actually pay my bills which is silly.

Very rude the staff at the Southwark council, Michelle was her name that I spoke today on the phone, calling to clarify why I got two difrent bills with two difrent accounts and she been very very rude and I dnt understand the people like her should be examined by a physiology before they get hired in a job.very sad and we need to put up daily with people either is a the council either at thr GP either at the bank or store. We need changes as this old people should be admitted to a care home. It's unacceptable the people at the council have attitude and speak bad and use bad language towards as who we pay more bills then them. Period. Shame to the Managers and others superios who accept they behavior of those people and as there are soo soo many bad reviews and still they dnt make chances. Shame.

The service level agreement (SLA) time with the Housing Repair even for the supposed Emergency Housing Repair phone line are the same, we have called multiple time within the working office hours and been in queue for 40 minutes to over 1 hour to talk raise an emergency. We are experiencing water leakage damaging electric supply to the heating system leading to no heating nor water, why are we paying nearly £1.8k in tax for?

khalid is so rude!!

Southwark district council

Noise complaints team are an absolute joke. Is this even a real council or just a fake call centre?

Noise complaints service is a complete joke. They don't actually do anything. Was told to call up while it was happening. Did that, and got through to someone who isn't even in the noise complaints team - she just emails it over to them. It took her over 5 minutes to find the address for where I told her the noise was coming from. If she'd told me that's what she was doing instead of just saying nothing I could've given her the address. She also made me stay on the line while she sent the email to them. And told me they'll contact me within an hour, and after that they'll "probably" go out to the noise. What's the use in that? Why should I have to put up with it for another hour? And what if it's stopped by then? Just pathetic. Update to include: just been told by another member of staff they get back to you within 2 hours🙄 Further update: nobody ever contacted me. I contacted via email and was told 'Someone contacted you and attended so your case has been closed.' I complained as this was a lie, and was essentially told the same thing. These people are paid to literally do nothing. Pathetic.

Very bad for repair and responding

Bin collection is a mess. I have to complain regularly as my bins are often not collected. Website is not easy to navigate, it’s difficult to find forms.

Very impolite, laughed at my face and not sympathetic to sensitive information. Waited the whole day for nothing.

What do I pay £1400 per year council tax again? Southwark council can't even bother/is not competent to solve simple issues. Hard to get hold of by phone, never reply to emails.

The most corrupted Borough in the United Kingdom don’t bother yourself to call them and also if you are bidding don’t waste your time because if you pay you get straight away Disgrace 👎👎👎👎

Nice environment, nice customer service, I was given the right information.

Sydenham woods entrance closed for months on end, unable to walk my dog in his natural habitat, were left having to walk round the south circular road with all the fumes/carbon monoxide, then all the way up that steep hill just to find an alternative entrance to the woods, also I have an underlying heart condition and this detour is making my life difficult. The long-term closure and restriction to green spaces is neglecting the needs of your local community.

Why do Southwark get away with such rubbish services been calling since morning got through to two agents but my question still hasn’t been answered instead I was put on hold for 30 minutes while she checked the system. Not only that I applied as a British Citizen for housing Jan 23 it’s May 24 and I still do not have a bidding number nor progressed with my application dispite providing evidence twice. Why is this allowed? Are Southwark not held accountable to any higher authority? I just don’t get it. Worst borough and council ever at everything!

Noise complaints problems they literally took an three hours and still no signs

Would like to thank Isha for her amazing help and sorting out our issues. Thank you!

Poor service and gave me 2 months date for inspection of mould and damp.

chicken and chips. mate bloody love it lovely chips!

I recently received a PCN from Southwark Council for turning right at the junction of Denmark Hill & Coldharbour Lane. The junction is not very well sign posted and to say the least, confusing. Its a Ponzi scheme. So beware folks.

Although not a local resident, I'm trying to contact the correct body for war memorials in Southwark, contacting the council for anything else than giving them money is proving difficult, with emails bouncing back.

Disgusting behavior from the staff @southwark council staff towards a man with a camera in public. The lady that approached the auditor and called him “weird” should be sacked

Poor service and not helpful

I moved in the flat in Nov 2023, found out there is no heating and hot water. Ring up council housing team many times, they sent one contractor to check the heating and found out boiler was broken need order new piece before Christmas, then no reply until I called after Xmas, council said the engineer didn’t take clear picture so came again to take photos, can’t guarantee when heating will be fixed. Ring the council complain about no hot water issue this week, they confirmed engineer will visit us from yesterday until 8PM, didn’t come. Today same appointment, didn’t turn up. What’s going on with council contractor? We have paid full service charge fees and council tax. Not satisfied with the service at all!

I have lodeged a Council Tax Student Discount Form on 3 May 2023 and received an email confirming that. However, I still receive an email saying that I have a summon. But in between 3 May till today, I have not received any communication about the result of Council Tax Student Discount Form. [Update] Finally got detailed response from the council, and this time the explanation is quite comprehensive and understandable. Change to 3 stars now, and hope we could get good response in time.

Doesn’t respond to queries, doesn’t listen to residents, doesn’t resolve issues

It's now 2 years since I wrote my last review and my Father is still occupying a 3 bedroom flat by himself. When I told my M.P. Harriet Harman she was not interested hence he's still there.In 2 years time I expect it will still be ground hog day.

Overcharging for garden waste removal and parking permits

absolute money grabbing time wasters

The opening times are wrong. When calling them up they direct you to their website, which is terribly unhelpful - it just redirects you to forms which take 10 days to process. It takes them two and a half weeks to fix a simple window, which is pretty awful as ours was on the ground floor and the flat could have easily been broken into in that time. And they waste time sending court summons for non-payment of council tax to students.

After 3 emails I was asked to call by phone, I called and got no reply for 3 hours. Called next day in the morning, and been redirected to other department after which the call suddenly ended. Called again and waited another hour to get redirected and disconnected again. Is it even possible to reach the right person?

I have been on the housing waiting list for years, meanwhile Southwark staff are giving out homes to their friends and family members and people with no local connection to the area get given new build flats for themselves and their 500 kids to live in. Southwark housing are corrupt, they have already been exposed for nepotism and my housing officer couldn’t give a toss that I am homeless. Housing officer completely useless and doesn’t even respond to emails, we no longer have a housing office in Southwark even though every other borough has a housing office.

One of the worst performing councils in London. Phones rarely answered, when they are leaseholders are passed from one department to another, everyone pigeon holed in small areas unable to use initiative, unwilling to be proactive. Deadlines and timeframes are ignored. Contractors trample across plants and residents flowers with disregard. Water pours through ceilings from council tenanted properties months after leaks are supposedly fixed. Ugly and huge recycling bins are stuck in front of residents windows without consultation. Too many things to mention

The website cant give you proper statement and if you come in person in the end they ask you to go on the website....

I was enquiring about application for residents' permit and after a few emails, Mr Paul Hunt of the parking representation team told me to not direct any emails to them as my estate is a car-free zone and I am not permitted to have a permit despite me owning a car. The email he sent was frankly quite rude as it came across as if I was bothering him and his team when the whole point of their team was to deal with enquiries? I am sorry for even asking and trying to abide to the parking rules. If your team was competent enough to tell me the information a few emails ago, I wouldn't be writing this review. Council team should get some soft skills training or hire people with soft skills.

I have written emails with no response over two months ago and just came in to see if I could get assistance with paying! Yes trying to pay my council tax. No one can help no appointment can be made. I sit in the main entrance on a phone one handsfree waiting for over 10 mins. Still no one answers and the two ladies at the desk seem to think can’t do anything other than give me the same phone number which had me on hold for ages. If I make a mistake or don’t follow ever hidden rule I get penalised. It is so disheartening and demoralising.

Horrible they basically send me to die with my 3 kids to a horrible house they didn't even give me an option they say they will help but at the end they send you to a house 1 and half hour away from your community them they tell you to look for an private accomodation for 1650 pounds per month 3 bedrooms flat impossible to find something for thet price basically they just tell to help but at the end of the day they just pretend to help to be sincere so traumatized for this situation me and my kids they make us suffer a lot at the end I have to save my self borrowing money from my friends and family also they make me lose time soo much time and also my job because ni was searching for houses like crazy

How is this even possible? You have an institition PAID by People, but work AGAINST their interest and NEVER listen to the REAL ISSUES WE HAVE. Obviusly very, VERY INCOMPETENT. I mean just read about all the ISSUES we have and little to nothing is done. Who is supervising them?

I have lived in the borough all my life, I’ve been to school college and I work within the borough an for them turn me away like some dog basically told me to live in the streets because they don’t have a duty to help me because I’m not a priority or vulnerable than any other normal person, discriminating me over the phone without even seeing me in person to understand my mental disorder but yet judging me, even though I’ve sent supporting letters from my doctor stating my vulnerability’s with my mental health that I suffer from I’ve also developed suicidal. An still they just told me to sleep on the streets with rats n kill your self. They don’t care about you, I hope one day they get in this situation to how it feels because at the end of the day they have a roof over their heads they can eat sleep and keep warm throughout the winter, when since an homeless person is not vulnerable ? Are you telling me I a have to be disable in order to get help? This is sickening

Can be on hold for an hour plus but no one bothers to answer

Appallingly poor service from Southwark Council. Streets and public areas that were once kept tidy and presentable now show signs of negligence and lack of maintenance. Cleaners are seen not cleaning and standing around using their phones. Trash bins overflow with garbage, sidewalks are covered in debris, and it seems that the council's cleaning efforts have become non existent.

trash agent and angry about her customer, shameless

Feeling very gratefull for have met, enjoyed Shirly Scott as a pristine, honest e incomparable worker. I am very sad for her departure from Southwark Council. Thanks so much. . I h. I

If you are homeless, do not waste your time with the municipality. They will do nothing for you but give you papers and a phone number. Then you will lose money to access addresses, and you will lose communication time and waiting for two hours. Employees receive salaries in order to waste your time. The solution is to escape from London and try other municipalities If it is the same chaos, flee to the European Union, there they have camps for the homeless

Trying to contact a person to speak with in this council is non existent. Ive just been on numerous hold numbers over a period of 30 mins, trying to get through to building and planning services. When I finally got to through to them, an automated message told me “ we have a lot of lines busy and it’s just quicker to write an email” and then I was disconnected. What a useless service! Not even worth one star

Not without its faults, but not without merit either

I am on the phone from 25 minutes and no one is answering! I mean seriously? Is anyone actually working there?

Over 1 year ago I applied for registration in council house they haven't yet manage to do anything... I keep calling them but noone know anything apparently

Radiator leaked Dec 2022, engineer isolated it and we've been trying to get them back out to replace the faulty radiator ever since.

They are bad , really bad and rude

they take forever to respond

Oh. My. GOD! Call to discuss parking permits. As soon as I choose ANY option related to parking, I am transferred to the abyss of nothingness, where I wait in limbo only to be cut off. This is one afternoon of my life I definitely will not miss...

I've had to call southwark council by the number they have provided more than 10 times, they have disrespectfully hung up the call every single time. My boiler hasn't worked all December, I've complained many times about someone coming to fix the boiler and yet no one has come. This issue was raised before Christmas and yet when Christmas came they said that everyone is on holiday so I should wait. I have waited all Christmas and new years with no heater working and no hot water. And yet no one is here to fix the boiler. This is absolutely pathetic and disgusting. What's the point of being here if no one is competent enough to do there job.

This is the worst council ever and as already some people are mentioned already, rude and untainted people working in this council and the service is absolutely awful. That corona virus was an excellent excuse for them to delay all the cases and they all lazy and don’t want to work properly. Just employ me then I will show you how to work and I will process all the cases for you.

My husband has been dealing with someone called Adrian Sancroft, Principal Surveyor at Southwark Council for renting a unit in Tower Workshop which has become a nightmare as we have been waiting for a simple response for the last 7 months. I was just wondering If that unit was owned by Adrian, would he let it stay unoccupied for that long or he doesn't care about that because he gets paid whether he works or not as I don't think someone is supervising him if that was the case, his contract should have terminated a long time ago. I reckon hundred of people have been desperately waiting for a response from him while he is now enjoying the festive season with his loved ones. What goes around comes around! remember this Adrian!

I am absolutely disgusted with the level of service I have received. I officially made my first inquiry regarding my heating from 2021, the heating has never been up to par, one minute it’s lukewarm and another minute it don’t work. I’ve been going back and forth with you guys for a while now, and it’s officially not working, I’ve been freezing from last week Wednesday and nothing has been done about it. We are now witnessing our coldest weather since records have began, and my house is super cold, I have not received no help with this issue at all. Every engineer who has come out never seems to know what they are doing, I have seen many come and nothing ever gets done. Today I was told that a supervisor was meant to attend, and guess what? No one has come! I have lost money due to me taking numerous days off. Can someone please get on the case and sort this issue out asap.

I'm new here and originally from East Sussex, I came 3 months ago via mutual exchange and since the swap I have had nothing but a problem with my swap information. According to southwark my daughter whom is 3 is my husband and have even got her name on letters as a Mr a very big mistake to make 🫣🫡🤔😂and my husbands information is no where to be seen on any of our documents to do with the swap, its not my problem if your not used to doing mutual exchanges but your given 67 days to make sure all the paperwork and stuff is completed and accurate but so far alot of the details are wrong. My husband called and apparently a lady sorted it but then I got more letters which showed no change. Please sort your council out cos this is very bad service and I trusted you as my new landlords to get the mistake sorted not for it to be ignored.

Absolute cow maneour.

I hate complaining, but Southwark's Emergency repairs line only exists in name only. Today, a problem has occurred with my heating(non communal) not being able to be switched off, whether the thermostat or boiler are off and the radiators down to the ice icon. It is quite obvious that I will have this problem to at least Monday when the proper line should be open and manned. Meanwhile, who in these cost of living crisis times is going to compensate me for having my heating on for what could be 72 hours straight? The heating costs more than a pound a hour as it is and I have taken the time over the summer and autumn to build a reserve for when the winter gets really cold that will go up in air because Southwark does not have an up and running VALID emergency repairs line, but advertises that they do. This is disgusting and I haven't known such slackness since the last time Southwark Council was run by Labour before the Libs got in. I didn't think that Southwark would be so shameless as to go back to those days. I've been two hours on the phone waiting for somebody to pick up and it is obvious that the advertised out of hours repairs line exists in name only. Let's see what Monday brings. What a shame and disgrace. I only posted one star to enable my posting. If I had the option, I would give minus five just for advertising something that doesn't exist. Sane people like to know where they stand.

Everyone from the noise and licensing team was SUPER helpful to deal with an issue of a noisy venue. Thanks to everyone and especially Justin from the licensing team who dealt with the issue promptly and keeping great communication all the way through.

Hopeless trying to get to speak to a real person on parking. How as a visitor can I visit if I can’t find out how pay! Website hopeless

The worst experience ever!!! The staff has no idea what they are doing! They just transferred my calls 10 times and still no one could help because of a lack of competence! I wrote them over 20 emails, and never got a response. If you have to deal with these names: Shafia, Sonia - then be ready to be ignored forever!

Southwark council deserves one star at best… However, ‘Jackie’ from the council tax department saves the day. It’s rare to find someone willing to help, and not just disregard or pass you on. The help I received has been much appreciated, in such a busy and financially hard time Jackie has helped with my problems. Very efficient and polite. We need more people like Jackie working for Southwark council!

you can Hardly talk to anyone answering machine most of the time and when you do you bad customer service.

Completely failed to respond to any communication regarding pest control and anti-social behaviour in our council estate.

Absolutely nightmare!! I was falsely charged with council tax despite being a student. They kept sending removal notice and warnings, although I have tried countless ways to contact them. I am still waiting for their response.

Leaves you without any hot water in the whole property for over 5 weeks, staff damage items shocking they are allowed to get away with this. Asked for manager still waiting.... Still trying to get hot water back to my property as cylinder needs replacing. Only so much boiling kettles and heating pots of water you can do.

They used to have a very easy access website and customer service support. During covid I had to move out of the borough and since I came back I haven’t been able to get support even for the most simple matters like re-enrolling as a new resident of the borough. Operators never replies and the call drops a bit after. You used to do better and considering what we pay for rent and council tax in the area you really must improve the service!

I had a good experience yesterday in regards to housing

Moved from a property and notified them on from 30/06/2021 Was sent a bill text msg 14/09/2022 Phone caller was extremely rude No replies from their email from last week

The worst. Poorest communication ever experienced.

Worst council in the UK I have tried so many times to help a elderly neighbour and southwark council Naomi Magbadelo, refuses to answer emails sent by Caerphilly council to help to re house her. Shocking help to the elderly

I'm giving one star because it's impossible to contact your housing officer. Covid restrictions are over, where are they? You send email...nothing! You leave voice message if the V/M box is not full and still nothing! I will now contact local MP and escalate any concerns through them to ombudsmen. It's sad how there is no more one stop services anymore.

Awful website

Impossible to get through to anyone on the phone. The whole system is incompetent, they need to sort themselves out

Takes around 20 minutes to get to the switchboard operator and the line is clearly not staffed as no one replies on that line.

Incredibly bad - I have been trying to get some desperately needed repairs done to communal areas for ever. No one takes responsibility, you get passed around various departments ad infinitum, there is no communication about what is happening - but basically you know that nothing is happening and eventually you just give up in despair.

1 star for blocking off roads unnecessarily, without consulting actual locals and then making other roads more polluted with traffic. Because, you know where else does the traffic get diverted to when you close people off in their own neighborhoods!? Constant silly ideas conjured up by overpaid dimwits on taxpayers money.

Southwark are gennerally good but getting a traffic warden down to visit the Bellingden site school to tell parents that they cannot park outside is near impossible it seems like nobody cares untill a child is killed which i have nearly witness on many occasions please

incredibly poor customer service

Cannot set up a new Council Tax account. 20 days and still waiting. They haven't updated my records and it's impossible to speak to someone from Southwark Council.

It’s the WORST. Accidentally paid money into my council account. Hard to speak to someone. Eventually managed I was directed to a site. Was told it takes 10 days to deal with queries at the busiest of times. It’s been 2 weeks now. The funds are needed urgently for a property deposit, no acknowledgment or appreciation for the urgency of the matter. Unbelievable. Update: Eventually took 6 weeks to resolved. Logged a complaint and I haven’t heard back from them in over 3 weeks.

I’ve lived in several different London boroughs and Southwark has probably been the one best managed by the council. Could definitely be better but the reviews here really aren’t representative of most people’s experiences (especially the ones who are just complaining that they broke the law and got a fine or something).

Has to be the most incompetent borough in London!

Very bad service, I ask them to take away my recycling every week, because a lot is accumulated, and they say that there is nothing they can do because on my street they take away every two weeks on Wednesday. I have a question - why do you raise the fee for the council tax every year ???

Real struggle with this council. Got my council bill address wrong, so I never got the bill. Got charged late payment.

Unprofessional lazy very rude staff. They try to do everything possible for don't do nothing.

Awful administration team. Toxic call handlers, and they always mess up with Council Tax. Avoid living in Southwark if you want to avoid the Council Drama.

Useless

If I could have given this organisation a zero rating I would have. Organisation is a misnomer ..........disorganisation would be appropriate.

In common with the other reviews about this council I have also experienced extremely poor service from the council. Their timeframes for responding to complaints is 15 working days, however now 2 months in I have had no resolution to my complaint despite emailing the MP for the council @KieranWilliams. The customer resolution line is not answered any day of the week and emails aren't responded to. Update April 22- Still no response to my complaint. The complaints phoneline hasn't been answered in 6 months and no one takes accountability. Terrible.

Southwark council seem To think it’s okay to come and collect food waste as part of there recycling scheme but seem to drop It on the floor when collecting then walk off and leave it to be picked up by someone else. No wonder why Southwark has a Rat problem.

Cannot get through to anyone on the phone using even their mechanised reception. Utter rubbish. If you need something doing - have to go round there physically. Make you listen to Covid 19 recordings then data protection stuff ad nauseum and then cut you off!

Fobbed off by the answering machine yet again! No connections only frustrating cycles!

Can't get through to no one, phone ring then hang up. Very distasteful, wanted some information but no one to speak to.

It's already 1year since I'm waiting for windows replacement. In this time I've lost already 3 days of my annual leave due to contractor visit: 1st didn't turned up (lied to office that there was no access), 2nd measured windows and gaskets, 3rd came on the morning checked thickness and instead of returning in 2h he returned after 6h with only half of the expected windows and no gaskets for them (wanted to use old one, which I obviously didn't allowed). How many days, months or years we must wait for repairs?! My landlord pays alot for service charge too councils, we pay rent. It's ridiculous!! Southwark council just waisting public and private money and have no control over their projects and contractors. When called them, some young girl couldn't even be bothered to switch off the music she was listening which was disturbing and could hardly understand her. Something has to be done in this country. We all are treated like rubbish, our money is wasted and no accountability for anything in those offices

Tried to call to find out about time changes to the Dulwich village fiasco. Put through to voicemail which promptly informed me it was full and couldn't take any more messages, I actually wanted to talk to a human, and ended the call. The information should be on line by now so thanks for nothing. What a useless council you are.

Wasting money on Unnecessary things?!

Stay away from this council like the plague.

I have had my property with Southwark council for 36 years and I still can’t book a visitors parking without a problem. When you ring the council they tell you to ring another number and it’s always wrong or they don’t answer the phones. Their service is getting worse by the year. I pay a lot of money to you Southwark you could at least have some decent customer service.

Trying to pay a bill: Southwark gives you four contact numbers - NONE of them work!!! "you have dialled a incorrect number..." WHY??????

One star as i cant give zero! Chasing me for a bill that has been paid. Called about 20 times, 17 of those they just hang up when you are connected, not much work being done at home! 3 times I have eventually gotten through and each time they say it has been allocated to the wrong period but they will resolve. They are now threatening to write to my lender and claim it is still unpaid so I have paid it again. I am writing to my MP they are shockingly bad.

trying to get these people to answer the phone is joke .when they do they fob you off. they dont responability for putting you in houses that should be knocked down.

There is no where to download council tax bills anymore. No more proof of address. Ridiculous.

Terrible website, not user-friendly at all when trying to pay council tax. Am getting an error and they'll be the first to send me a letter if I don't pay it on time!

I've been trying to end my council account because I am unable to access through the website. Twice the same agent (He sounds like a middle-age man), arrogant and stupid. Hang up the call when I was trying to explain to him what was happening. What a horrible service. And it seems no one cares about of it. The leadership team should be informed and take actions as soon as possible. I wish I wouldn't need to use of this service. Poor quality for the amount they charge monthly.

Absolutely dire. Apparently unable to deal with the most basic issue and possibly the worst communicators in the history of mankind. Just shocking. 0 stars, unfortunately the minimum rating allowed is 1 star, but that's far too generous. After increasing a roof repair from £750 to £7000 without telling me, they now have allowed a blockage in the communal stack pipe to flood my flat for 2 months. Repairs are clueless, complaints have done nothing, staff are rude. My insurance company will not arrange repair until these people fix the initial problem. Everyone else has identified the problem, my plumber, an independent surveyor, but Southwark are still at the negligence and lying stage, yet again. Just laughable.

very bad customer service-one can guide you or give advise

Literally completely useless

If you hold a blue badge which they have issued, don't park on disable bay because they'll fine you anyway and they will dismiss your appeal. Of course this only apply for legitimate disables, not for their mates who were gifted of badges so they can park near to the gym...maybe is a ploy to starve us so we stop being a nuisance...

Absolutely terrible.

Why can't I give zero stars? I have being trying to contact Southwark Council all morning to try to get them to stop taking money from my deceased father's account. I have been cut off three times, the first two time because there was no one to take my call, and the last time because the voicemail of the relevant department was full. He died in June and they are still taking money for a personal alarm that he had in his room. I called shortly after his death and informed them so they collected the alarm but are still charging for the service. I called a few weeks ago to point this out and they assured me the payments would stop and there would be a refund. Now four months later they have just taken payment again and no refund has been made.

Trying to get anyone on the phone to discuss a notice they provided in my letterbox had me being passed from one automated message to the next for 30mins. Completely flawed system.

A Big thank you to Bill/Billy the plumber. I have had a problem with kitchen blocked sink and pipes for years. Engineers come out and just unblock the sink, but don't solve the problem. Bill/Billy I believe his name is, he's a plumber came out and changed the pipes under the sink. He explained what was wrong and went out his way to fix it. Thank ux

Terrible unhelpful advise

Getting a repair done with this lot is impossible. Complete waste of time.

Terrible terrible Terrible ! I deal with many councils and this is the WORST. Phones never picked up. Extremely Poor management.

Southwark council invest little money into the community. There is a serious lack of council properties, Southwark council knock down existing council properties and sell the land to private buyers to create private expensive flats for the rich and well off. Don't believe me check out the whole of Elephant and Castle, Aylesbury & Walworth Road. Alot of low income families live in severly over crowded conditions. Southwark council are quick to hand out parking tickets, put up parking restrictions to obtain money off you. Block roads and put cameras in order to fine you. The remaining council properties are poorly looked after. Most have bad mold, damp, old plumbing which floods, old bathrooms and kitchens that need renewing.

Southwark council are a joke ,they evicted me from my fathers flat ,yet he gets to stay in the same 3 bedroom flat by himself and your taxpayers money is paying for it. I wish i could give no stars.

Don't visit Dulwich - there are a manner of parking restrictions that you will only find out about after Southwark council write to you with a PCN demanding money.

I have been trying to get an answer on a very important building control query for 3 months . Tried again this morning and they just cut the phone off . Looking to make a formal complaint as the information is needed for a looming court case . Unprofessional, useless civil servants

Southwark Council's website is the worst for a local authority and difficult to navigate.

Couldn't be more unhelpful if they tried.

Bunch of XUNT'S that give parking fines to people who have covid passes

Just terrible! I complained that my food waste has not been collected for three weeks. I was told it would be collected within three days. Still here seven days later, so four weeks foul old food waste stinking out the street. Still waiting...

Billing me for a property I lived at 2 years ago, despite notifying them of my move and "settling" my account, now they send a demand for a trivial amount with no further information. Incompetent.

Customer service is absolutely horrible, the people are rude and inconsiderate. Their website is outdated and bad. The people at southwark are inexperience and doe not care at all.

Worse customer care, reports of stealing of funds, data protection breaches, endless lies and underhand behaviour.. you name it, and Southwark Council does it.

No point in complaining about excessive noise, as they do nothing. They can’t even follow the advice given on their own website. Shockingly bad service.

My understanding was that you can register for marriage and then choose what venue at a later date. That is not the case. Southwark worker said you can get married here, I wasn’t really sure yet, so I wrote an email two days later saying I have decided on my venue which was a different local borough town hall. I was then told you have to pay another £70 to re register for marriage? It was only the borough down the road I’m getting married in. It would take two seconds to update on the computer. I called the town hall I’m getting married in and they said if Southwark wanted to be nasty they could charge me twice. But it’s actually at their discretion. They are charging me twice and making me go to go through all the inane questions and paper work again. Awful. Money grabbing. What a terrible way to begin the journey marriage. Would not recommend to anyone and will say to friend DO NOT MARRY HERE.

I am disappointed with the staffs. It seems like their service is never improving. I have called them 3 times, they put me on hold and then cut me off. They should put a system in place for a call back. I shouldn't be repeating myself for the same report.

There's no admission of responsibility. Agents offer no empathy.

Southwark council are truly the worst organisation. Especially there parking services and report a repair. Did you know that you can buy a on street parking using your estate parking account, and if you request a refund THEY CAN'T EVEN FIND the on street permit ref number. Such a joke. I phoned them up asking for a refund and you get a serviceman who just came out of secondary school working there. I even emailed them and heard NOTHING after 8 days. Seriously what a absolute joke they are. Also they have 2 ways to report a repair. And that 1 side of the repair porting services website DOES NOT EVEN WORK.

Zero stars should be really given to these incompetent people! Not once but twice we paid them for ,large items’ removal and twice they they took the money but did not do the job! First time: the excuse was: they had no access to the items! Which were on the front porch! Shame on you! All was take by scrap collectors, but the council got paid! Second time: we had loads of items (most of them were taken by scrap collectors), even one of the two mattresses, but the other mattresses was waiting for collection 3 months!! The excuse those incompetent workers gave this time ‘that it was too heavy’! Jokers, and a waste of time!

Their complaint system is not fit for purpose. Have been going round and round in circles for ages with nuisance anti social neighbours that they have placed either side of me. I would love to see the complaints if any they have upheld. Little or no accountability is taken when they place these 'temporary' people who seem to act as just a number for Southwark council. They do nothing when issues arise and let the culprits do what they want. Whilst continuing to take my tax each month with this like it or lump it attitude

Wish I could give 0 stars

STOP 🛑 Robbing people money from Penalty charge Notice.this is the new way for council to make money from drivers.why don’t you guys say stop driving and use bus

Let me first be clear i would to give Southwark Council no stars as i am absolutely outraged by how they have handled my repairs. This morning a plumber who came to my flat to fix my toilet wasn't able to carry out the works due to the job which was left behind by the leaks from above team two days ago. the plumber expected there is asbestos within my bathroom and we are not to go in there until the asbestos team come out. It is now 9pm and no one has come out and no one can help over the phone, duty managers can't be contacted. no one has called me and we've been told not to use our only toilet in my flat. So what do i do? With three young children? How do you treat people like this? Also have damp, leaks, no heating, mould and no lights.

Awful absolutely awful One time a council worker came to fix our toilet and didn't even finish the job, he just left Then the next worker, broke our toilet When trying to get help, for home fixtures, it's like talking to a brick wall

Unfortunately for me, 11 months my electricity key went faulty. I was really distressed because Scottish power were not helpful. I needed to get in contact with my housing officer because I had no electricity. Needed the council help the engineer gain access to a locked cupboard in my block. I could not get in touch with any officers. I was an email to ask for key which did not work. I had one person the phone being rude me when i was distressed.In the end I had to go to one stop shop to use their phones. I had no electricity. My housing officer got back and asked why I was bothering her, after all I was been hysterical and she was too busy. It took me 2 days to finally get engineer to arrive at the same as Scottish power so my meter could be fixed. My officer even told me before all of this that council does do repair? ?? She told me to pay a handyman. So why I am paying my rent and councel tax to these people 😲😲😲😲😲

I'm sat here right now security is aggressive and no one not even sercurity are wearing masks.

Quite simply the most incompetent, rude and obstructive individuals it has ever been my misfortune to encounter. I can only assume Southwark recruit on the basis of unwillingness to help others or display empathy. Months of no hot water/no water (since July 2020), weekly phone calls with people who cannot be clearer that they couldn't care less, and obvious instructions to be as obstructive and difficult to deal with as possible. Like so many others - I'd give 0 stars if I could..... Southwark Council - you should be embarrassed and appalled by these reviews. What are you doing about it?!!

I am a residents of Southwark Council, I pay my council tax every months on time and am absolutely horrified with the council. I was due a refund from the council, they said it would take 6-8 weeks t o process and I am still waiting for it 11 months on, almost a whole year of chasing, quite shocking.

It Is like trying to get water from a rock when trying to get the council to carry out a repair. I actually gave one star because it won't allow me post my comment without it, otherwise I won't because its doesn't deserve it.

I have lived in Southwark for 20 years. This year has been the worst and dealing with the most horrendous rude people in repairs and leaks from above and other department has left me infuriated that such imbeciles could be appointed by the council

Don't reply to emails and just don't communicate at all. They just messed with my account and my landlords without saying anything and doing the opposite of what they should have done. Absolutely useless can't believe I pay my taxes for this they are a massive agruement against devolution.

Do not bother calling the education welfare department. The rudest customer service I have experienced. very rude not letting you even ask a question but just shouting downing the phone with which appeared to me she is the one who had called and not me. some parents have some really concerning issues about their children's education the person I spoke too was extremely rude and not helpful she didn't even give a chance to ask any questions. I honestly don't understand how some of the Tax payer's money is used. This particular department is better off to go int o administration and let the public rely online.

Just useless. Nobody cares or takes any responsibility when trying to deal with an issue. Simply trying to purchase a residents parking permit has taken 2 weeks to no avail. Their website is utterly dated and one cannot even make a simple payment online. Staff NEVER call back, promise the world and deliver nothing.

Can I give zero stars? Worst Customer Service. Worst Website. Shambolic

Worst customer service I have ever dealt with. Have been waiting for someone to get back to me for over a month

Please fix your website or just do not charge council taxes from us cos we have no ways to pay lol (and Google please as well add a zero-star option)

Every time I call Southwark Council, I get a staff member with an attitude, who huffs and puffs about whatever I’m saying. They then rarely offer any actual help or pass me on to another who does the same and helps no further. Sick of it! What do I pay you for! You take so much money from us every month and you cant even get your staff to be polite.

Worst Council ever, poor customer service. They take ages to deal with matters but are very quickly to treat you with legal actions when is the other way round. If you are living in this council, please don't expect much from this council.

The worst service over the phone and the worst website to navigate around. They are rude on the phone and dont want to help, they pass you around departments and dont have a clue. It's like they were all employed yesterday and have no care or detail for the job. Cant string a sentence together most of the time and mumble their way through calls with a lazy drawl. Cant wait to leave this area so I dont have to deal with these incompetent people again.

As a resident myself I love Southwark. The council are very helpful, it all depends on who you get on the phone and how you approach them. Give respect, Get respect.

Terrible customer service. Very un helpful.

Far easier to deal with on the telephone than Lewisham was when I lived there. Library services are much better too. I feel I'm getting better value for my Council Tax than in my previous borough.

After calling many times they tell you to send an email and still they do nothing, what a bunch of useless people working in there

Worst council ever. Rude, incompetent staff is unable to make any decision. Just a few examples of many. 1) During the winter they "accidentally" took our fuse out for three days. We had no electricity, no heating. My partner was heavily pregnant. The flat was inhabitable, and we had to move out of the property. They took no responsibility, forced us to check our electrical installation (£160) and refused to send their electrician over or even give us access to the fuse box. 2) It took them 1.5 year to replace a window which was hanging loose and on the verge of falling off. Fixing other windows was just a joke. 3) Recycling bags pilling up not being collected 4-5 times in a row. 4) A staircase is in absolutely disguising state. Vomit on the walls and stairs. Dirt is everywhere. Paint is coming off the walls. Cleaners don't even have the proper tools to do the job. Southwark council is happy to charge you excessive service charge, but they avoid any responsibility. If you are planning to buy an ex-council flat, I strongly advise against it. It's just not worth all the hassle, stress and associated costs. Shame that there is no government body to regulate them.

I was on the phone to Julie she was great and she very helpful. She answered all my questions and now there is no questions on my head.👍🏻

Great and helpful and also best Christmas tree

The worst council with policies that put families at risk. No star is what I rate this council's service or lack of service.

E-mail customer support is abysmal. 4 months of multiple phone calls + emails to update the names of account holders. Furthermore, if you have any sort of issue with council tax liability, you will get no updates via mail, just a bill sent to you out of the blue with no explanation. Trying to get any sort of response from support team will then be a nightmare of its own, with misinformation, different people giving you different replies, and again, waiting times of weeks between each email update.

incompetent and rude

The whole lot of them are wrong'ens,.my dad died in his flat on sunday afternoon and southwark council was on the phone 8.30 monday morning asking for the keys back he lived there for over 45 years never missed the rent.he was not even dead 24 hours before they tried and move someone else in there.they are one of the worst councils i have ever come across, and the area i grew up in is now a run down slum that is poorly maintained and is more like a third world country.all they seem to worry about is money and not family's and how to help in your time of need. Southwark council shame on you.

Rude, unprofessional, uneducated, no manners, low skilled and pathetic people work in southwark council. Full of African people who lack the basic communication skills. Unbelievably rude people

Abandoned cars reported various times. Not action taken. Then we have those lazy traffic Warners going around the estate giving penalty tickets. Wondering why they not remove the abandoned cars.

Shame on you

Why are you forcing XXL Club to shut? Who is on the take here?

Resident Greed

I can't believe that you allow the closing of XXL

The website takes about 3 attempts to find what you're actually after. Plus there's some dodgey goings on with Native Land atm.

Shame on you. Keep XXL

If you are 🏳️‍🌈 don't bother contacting them: you are not welcome!

This is the worse service I have ever received in my life. The staff are a joke and nothing gets resolved. I will be taking them to court as this is unacceptable. I would give 0 stars if I could. Totally useless council

By far the worst customer service experience on record. Constantly misinformed, verbally rude and abusive staff with the "if you keep calling, i'll bump you down the queue" being my favourite quote. this was after waiting 3 months for planning approval.

Damn Library Fines. I owe you John Harvard.

Extremely rude customer service by a man named Habib 'I'm not obliged to give you my last name'. Not helpful at all - when I told him I couldn't see the link he was referring to, he said "it's there". It was, in fact, not there but on a different page. Get your act together.

Southwark Council are useless rude disrespectful And really do not care never answer the phone if you go in to sort a matter it takes up your whole day basically They add on rent arrears I can see how they get to drive new company cars and new vans it’s all a scam in there housing is a joke no help they say what goes we have to go with it and make their own rules up It’s corrupt they get away with it if you ask me the whole building in Bournemouth road should be knocked down and new staff relocation get rid !

Would honestly give 0 stars if I could! Such appalling service, takes ages to get through to them and they are a bunch of incompetent f*****s! They do not know how to speak to anyone and they 'hang up' if you do not have the information that they require. I am honestly SO glad I am not a Southwark resident because god knows what would happen if I was! DO NOT LIVE THERE SIMPLY BECAUSE THE COUNCIL ARE A BUNCH OF TWATS! AVOID AVOID AVOID AT ALL COSTS. DISAPPOINTED WITH THE S**T SERVICE. THEY NEED BETTER STAFF WHO CAN ACTUALLY TALK TO THE RESIDENTS AND DO NOT HANG UP THE CALL.

40 mins on phone to be told noone available and will get a call back. LIVE ELSEWHERE SO YOU CAN AVOID THIS COUNCIL!!!!

I wasn’t very happy how I was treated from the enforcement people in south wark my husband was paying already the penalty charge in 2018 and I was appealing and I told them that my husband payed already I gave them evidence the bank statement and they didn’t tell me what the reason was because they refused the appeal . The bailiffs asked the enforcement and they said there was no reference number and they couldn’t find the payment now the bailiffs want to have 500 pounds it’s so rediculous. I am sure they didn’t even check if the payment is in the system . They do so many mistakes this Enforcement people. I heard from another enforcement officer that they do a lot of mistakes in south wark enforcement. And we have to suffer because they do not do their job properly and I know they didn’t even check that the payment for the penalty charge was already made .

After reading these reviews I hope Southwark is checking to train their staff in customer care I have never had any trouble with Southwark

An organization without ethics, or competence. The best thing it's constituents could do is burn it to the ground.

They want you to think they are doing something but in reality like my housing office they are visiting friends in work hours and they always try to make you feel really small they robbed me of 400pound and won't give it back Do not trust this council it is very orientated on them selfs

Poor service, extremely poor service! Normally I don't like writing negative reviews but this place needs one, left on hold for over 15 mins just to be put through to some unhelpful people, who just don't know what they are doing. Utterly useless.

Testing and rubbish customer services. Registering and trying to get their records updated with the correct values ends up in so many calls and a complaints procedure to be able to rectify. Only then will things get done. Convinced the people answering the phones either need training or need replacing. I think it's the latter!

Do not use

Nice refurbished building. If you need help from Southwark council ask at reception. They are helpful

Appaling customer service.

Rude and unresponsive

They have public accessible toilets at the council office 160 Tooley St just walk in. Public cafe as well.

I think the 1.4 average star rating says it all. Utterly shocking, if this was a restaurant it would have shut down decades ago!

To be honest I had to ring to confirm some information and had questions, and I got what i needed pretty quick and the 2 staff members were really polite and helpful, so cant agree atm with some of these 1 star reviews.

I rang the council 45 minutes BEFORE THE WEBSITE says it is closed but got an out of hours answering machine. Really poor service.

Absolutely awful customer service, no chance of ever speaking to anybody. And they don't even respond to your emails! deserve NO stars.

The phone rings out, they take days to answer urgent emails. Useless.

The worst service provider I have ever come across. Web site is useless & no telephone numbers. Why do the staff hide away & not speak to anyone? They need to take a serious look at how people can communicate with them. Abysmal!!

I've reported to southwark council and paid a fee for some items to be collected and nearly every email I have sent 7 emails I've got back 3 replies I'm disgusted with the service due to the collectors stating they didn't have access as I made other arrangements for them to gain access to the building! There isn't a number for me to ring just having to email back and forth which isn't helping.

Absolutely useless

Agreed that most services are terrible, most staff are totally incompetent, but I have just had the MOST helpful lady in the Council tax department help me, she went out of her way to make sure that my issue was resolved when I was the one in the wrong not opening my letters! I don't have a surname for her, but Dolores from the council tax department, you are BRILLIANT and shouldn't be tarred with the same brush as the other employees who work for the council!

Unbelievably bad service from the disabled travel team. I applied for a renewal of my Blue Badge, 4 weeks before the old one expired, and 5 weeks later the new badge has still not come through. Each time I phone them up, I keep being promised a call back from the team, which never materialises. I am left stranded at home, as I can't travel anywhere without the Blue Badge. I am desperate!

One of incompetent , rudest , untrained staffs I have ever encounter . They dont have answer to most do the queries at customer services and cut the calls off if not sure what to say . If you complaint about about one incompetent employ to thr manager ,the manager (so called ) calls back with defends rather than look openly into the matter . Uk changed a lot now a days Those days gone when the uk been best in customer services and ethics . Seems like Call is directed to the Lagos Nigeria rather than in the uk .

Not even funny now bad this council is to deal with. If I could give negative stars I would.

Absolutely rude, don't know what they do. Typical lazy gits, but safe in there pensions F/h

Awfully rude customer service. Enough to make me reconsider living in Southwark!

No point trying to get to speak to anyone, no one answers. Costs a fortune in phone bills!!!!

A dreadfully designed website one of the most concerning parts was not being able to find information on my local election. The people on the help line rushed me through and talked over me as if they where annoyed at me for calling. Dreadful

On the phone: Go through all the options, got through to someone, he said I'll need to be transferred and sent me back to where I was before. 20min on the phone for a fob, to find out that they don't deal with it and I have to be transferred. I got transferred and the line went dead. Very typical. When they don't know what to say to you, they send you to their black hole non-existent team.

Southwark Council make Scarfolk Council look like a beacon of humanism and competence. The website looks modern enough but the information architecture is poorly (or sadistically?) thought out. Endless web forms and practically impossible to speak with anyone or find the necessary information. On the rare occasions you actually get through to a real person on the phone, it usually turns to be the wrong department.

RUBBISH WEBSITE, i AM TRYING TO REPORT A LEAK FROM THE UPSTAIRS FLAT, I AM UNABLE TO LOG IN TO THE MY SOUTHWARK REPAIRS REPORTING PAGE..BUT I KEEP GETTING A "NO INFO" ICON, I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO PHONE THEM, ON HOLD FOR AGES AFTER BEING CUT OFF, AFTER I EMAILED THEM,THEY EMAILED BACK TO SAY I HAD LOGGED IN, I HADNT, I LOGGED IN TO THE MYSOUTHWARK ICON, BUT UNABLE TO GO ANY FURTHER TO THE REPORT REPAIRS BIT...SO USELESS... NOT ONLY THAT, EVEN WITH LOADS OF WARNING ABOUT THE RECENT SNOW, THEY DID NOT GRIT ANY MAJOR ROADS, SUCH AS DOG KENNEL HILL,WALWORTH ROAD, CAMBERWELL AREA, NOT GRITTED.. AND THEY JUST CHANGED SOME SIGNS IN THE BLOCK THAT DIDNT NEED CHANGING..CANT WAIT TO GET BILLED FOR THAT ! WHEN I HAVE HAD A QUERY THE STAFF I HAVE SPOKEN TO ARE LOVELY AND HELPFUL WHO DESIGNED THAT WEBSITE?.. ONLY GOOD TO PAY A BILL,BUT NOTHING ELSE

OMG! Who is working in that council, who is managing our money??!!! What are we paying money for???!!! For this kind of service???!!! Dont bother to call council, the rudest people on this earth. Dont have basic manners! Dont want to take any responsibility! Where can we complain about this horrible council, something needs to be done. No one deserves to be treated the way they treat us!!

It seems to be impossible to talk to anyone!! you have to do everything by completing forms. I just want to talk to someone about a query that I can't find the answer about on line. What a waste of our time and what a rotten service.

Awful website, gives no contact details to speak to real human beings. I needed to speak with someone about ending my mother's tenancy following her sudden death, and what to do about returning her keys etc. Not everything is solved by an online form, and yet on the only occasions I did manage to track down a teleohone number, I was either offered a succession of unsuitable options by an automated answer 'service', or else directed back to this useless website. We have spent many hours in this fruitless exercise. A very distressing time made even more stressful by this terrible lack of customer service.

Awful. Awful staff. Awful service. Incompetent. Incomplete and incorrect costings. Billed for fardening never done. Inadequte communication

Staff so unhelpful and the site is useless if you are not making a payment.

Worthless website. They seem to go to great lengths to hide their telephone number, and none of their e-services related to council tax work well or at all. Finally had to Google it to find their phone number

Called to licencing department, really helpful staff

This is a dreadful website. Impossible to use. I am a Council tenant. If they want us to use online services then make the Homepage user-friendly!

Doesn't even deserve one star the absolute worst customer service ever. I wanted to order a new garbage bin as it is damaged so I called he said I have to use the website I told him my computer isn't working he said well I have to use the website I said but I've called you and been on hold forever what about the elderly what about someone who doesn't have access to a computer how would you help them?.. he didn't care said it was simple enough to do.. so why didn't he do it during my phone call? Rude, unhelpful and not very understanding.

The council only want to take your rent, they don't care about helping you.

"the only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is its inefficiency" Sadly, however, their inefficiency and abysmal inability to communicate internally greatly effects a certain portion of society; normally people on the ropes in desperate situations.

Apart from been able to make online payments. This website & southwark services are appalling.

Southwark Council are the worst most useless council in the country. Their staff in particular are useless morons who's only response to a question is - do it online - and if you say that you are unable to they just hang up the phone on you. Disgusting. This council is a disgrace.

This is the worst council website in London, it is so hard to find a contact number on it or a way to contact them, I am not even sure there is a way.

terrible website, very hard to find information and often takes you round in circles.

NO useful info or contact numbers,just a waste of time. and the new site is worse. who ever they paid to make this with OUR money should NOT be paid.

Really unhelpful staff. Pointless call.

Very poor service. Nobody there seems to know who you should talk to about any concerns or issues you may raise. Staff seem untrained.

Possibly the worst citizen website ever created. I experienced login troubles and in the entire website there is NO phone number whatsoever to speak with an employee.

Totally incompetent council. Don't bother dealing with them. They will not help you in any way. My life quality has been drastically reduced by having to handle Southwark council's horrendous procedures, decision-making and inept staff.

The website conveys what Southwark Council really think.... No tenants voice or consultations on anything.that effects us. No, It's a case of - Don't contact us. We don't give a s##t about you. Just keep giving us all of your money and we'll keep telling you what's best for you, Meantime, some designer glasses wearing never owned a car cyclist on 200.000 a year and a Gold plated inflation busting pension, paid for by our overpriced council tax, water rates and parking fines ect ect ect, will be sitting in some town hall office, concocting ever more devious schemes to squeeze even more money out of us.. Probably one of the worse Councils in London.

Cannot talk to anybody. Website takes you round in circle. If you are lucky enough to get through to them nothing gets done anyway.

Dreadful website does not give garage details on the MySouthwark page. Does not give South Council's actual address. Does not give contact numbers and addresses for any of its staff or departments and you can not even search for them in the search bar. Does not link to other pages.

log in has failed twice now, on hold for 20 mins yesterday and now on hold for over 27 min again and counting. Shocking.

Pretty decent overall, though annoying how they now charge for large refuse collection. Just encourages fly tipping.