What ARE we paying council tax for?!!

[Lollypopzmummy]

Our usual collection is on a Thursday.

The local refuse collection is on strike, nothing was sent out to anyone to notify them of this.
I phoned the council on Wednesday, after being told by MIL about the strike, the woman said "oh, you'll probably still have your's collected cos you're so close to the city centre". BIG FAT LIAR!!! No-one had their's collected, even those right in the city centre and were not even scheduled to have done!

So, we've now got 2 week's worth sat outside (we forgot to put it out last week ) and it probably wont be collected until Thursday. We shouldn't really take it to the tip, because had a car accident a couple of weeks back and is using a hired car and we CANNOT get it dirty as we can't afford to!

I suggested packing the whole lot up and dumping it on the doorstep of the council offices for them to come face to face with on Monday morning (and looking at the weather it'll be humming! ), but that's just unreasonable isn't it, instead we should just leave it on our own doorstep to attract vermin.

Seriously, if anyone's got any bright ideas about the best way to deal with this please feel free to throw them my way.
xXx

We don't watch the general news and don't read national newspapers.

Why would we be checking council websites? I don't read the local paper, and it wasn't reported on the news. Last year they sent out a leaflet to tell you, this year they didn't bother. If you don't pay your council tax one month you get sent a letter threatening you with court action but if they don't do their job we have to just grin and bear it!

it was nametaken who seemed to be having a go at hb claimants not u. take your point - it is annoying i know but hopefully it will al get taken away at next pick up. councils didnt really know how many people would take strike action. it costs twice as much to hire in contractors and they did get a low rise themselves this year - even if it feels like your council tax went up a lot, they have also had to bear the huge brunt of fuel rises like all of us

I was on holiday in Cornwall, cut off from newspapers etc and I STILL heard about the strike. I'm sure if the Council had sent out leaflets they'd be comments about the money wasted.

'I just hope they're ready for the extra bags sat next to the bin! Will they take those aswell or will they only take what's inside the bin?'

Our council will only take what's inside the bin and the bin lid has to fit over the bin.

We had a strike over Xmas on our collection day.

But as the council only collects paper and cardboard recyling, we used the recyling wheelie bin to hold the other rubbish and then added it on for the next collection.

The town tip is about 20 miles away.

Ceeky hijack - hi Expat any last minute tips for me

Cheeky even!

Yeah, i got a last minute tip: don't go.

I can't stand the place even in winter, but this time of year?

Not on my life!

I answered - tshirts, naff touristy tshirts, baseball caps - ditto.

I know, if only .. I need us all to come down with some contagious disease eh except dh - he booked it - he can go and suffer it!

My mother said, 'Oh, if you hadn't gotten pregnant, we were going to fly you all over for Debby's (one of my first cousins) wedding.'

In August.

I thought, 'Aw, damn! What a shame!'

The food, however, is terrific and dirt cheap. As are all the consumer goods.

Welcome to our world. We have bi weekly collections and have done for quite some time. We recycle as much as we can washing out things so as not bring in the flies. (tins, plastic milk bottles etc) If we miss a collection we put the excess rubbish in the garage and put it out the following collection -if there is space in the bin as they won't take anything left by your bin and won't touch your bin if the lid is not shut. Or if we can't wait we take it to the tip ourselves.

We also live on a new estate where we have to pay a management fee so we pay twice, in effect, for a lot of things -communal areas gardened and kept tidy, street lighting (yes, we pay again for this) road upkeep as the council haven't adopted the road as yet. We get no reduction and also no rights as to complain to the council/police about crap parking all over the place as it's on 'private' land.

Crikey Muppetgirl that's really harsh! I think in your case at the very least you should be given a reduction in your tax!

We don't have street lighting or pavements, it sucks in the winter when you're pushing a pushchair and getting beeped at by speeding cars cos they can't see in the dark that there is no pavement and think you're just some crazy misfit who likes to put her kids lives at risk!

Or maybe I shouldn't leave the house at all?!

Now there's a thought eh? Me at home all day every day. . . more time on MN!!