HAS anyone ever tried to get through to various departments of City of York Council?

I recently had to get through to the waste department on behalf of a disabled person who was supposed to have his rubbish collected by one of the employees allowing them to come up the driveway and remove the bins.

On two occasions recently this did not happen. I tried phoning and after numerous attempts over a period of three days, I finally managed to speak to someone. I was informed that it had to be reported within 24 hours. How are you able to report your problem when no one answers the phone?

On another occasion I had to contact the council tax section; same thing happened.

I rang at 8.20am to receive the answering message that the offices opened at 8.30am. Therefore I rang at 8.32am and I got the usual message “due to the large volume of calls, please ring back later”.

This is frustrating and time-consuming, not to mention the cost. With all the money collected from the fines on Lendal Bridge, why don’t they spend some of it on employing more staff to man their phones?

Sylvia Flaherty, Whin Close, Strensall, York.