Waltham Forest Council Reviews 

Useless council, nobody investigates noise complaints unless you log 6 separate instances! What about anti social behaviour that’s happening right then and there ? What are we paying our taxes for? reported anti social behaviour - noise nuisance music being played extremely loud it could be heard 3 streets away from stoneydown park, however, online form asks for 6 separate instances!? The music is being played now nit in the future! Residents fed up sack the lot of them useless people.

I followed up my email query with the OT team. I connected with Maxine who was absolutely fantastic. What started off for me as an extremely stressful query, Maxine, along with the OT team provided a fast, efficient first class service.
I was able to liaise with NRS and the whole process was completed the next day. Thank you so much Maxine for being the person who took my call. Much appreciated.

Refuse collection - a bunch of jobsworth. Will not empty bins unless by the gate and then only if immediately accessible. If it's behind another bin nooooooooo or a few feet from gate nooooooooo. So should I leave it on street when no space noooooo that's a hazard. They can when emptied scatter bins outside random streets on pavements. This is not a service. And I pay for it. Pathetic

Waltham Forest have not emptied black bin since end of April. Unable to report as their website just stated that they would be back! If they do collect next week, it will be a month and my bin is overflowing. Extremely poor service. I wouldn’t give any stars

Had to contact Waltham Forest Parking Services because of the usual problem of trying unsuccessfully to contact Ringo[just check out THEIR reviews]
Sophia and Katy were absolutely brilliant, friendly, patient couldn't have been more helpful in sorting out our problem and completely reassured us after the carnage of trying to deal with Ringo

Waltham forest council service rubbish.
Bin collection service is worse than other council. No brain, useless.
They are collecting green and brown bin every week, but black bin now they started collecting every two weeks. This is health and safety issues. Everywhere very bad smell. Rats are growing.
Waltham forest council manager should resign asap.

The new 2 weekly bin collection is a disaster, they turn up at 7am and pick only the bins they feel like … shocking bunch of guys vs the old collection crew who came in the afternoon and were so helpful. I flagged the driver down but he ignored us and would not back up on oak hill gardens!!! Neighbors are now resorting to dumping refuse locally as Waltham Forest due to these missed bin collections will not return !!!! Fire the person / manager responsible for this staff.

Waltham Forest council has to be one of the worst run councils; the wasting of tax payers money is eye watering! Turning main roads into high traffic neighbourhoods so that councillors can have peaceful days and nights whilst other residents suffer, spending money on murals and statues instead of repairing potholes and cracks (usually undertaken by the same company for decades, providing temporary, shoddy 'work' ...), Freedom of Information requests not answered because they refuse to give information they DO hold, more expensive managers taken on needlessly when the council is over £17 million in the red! Worst of all, the deputy council leader is renowned for being an arrogant, egotistical bully! Sadly, there isn't anyone who has the backbone to call out the bad actors because they don't want to lose their allowances!

my (1st) webmail message:-

Thursday, 20 March 2025, at 14:45 GMT]

Regarding the London Borough of Waltham Forest (“LBWF”) Council:-

Via the website (Trustpilot.com), regarding the LBWF Council, their customer service rating is from POOR to APPALLING, during the past circa 28 years, from Tuesday, 09 May 1997, to today Thursday, 20 March 2025. Several mistakes regarding several subjects, from the subject of waste collection to the subject of Council Tax.

This year, during the past circa 2.5 months, from circa Thursday, 02 January 2025, to today Thursday, 20 March 2025, this is my (4th) complaint, comprising (in writing) via my (1st) webmail message, to LBWF Council (via the website Trust Pilot) and comprising (verbally) via my 3 (three) phone calls this week, to the LBWF Council.

During the past 12 months, for their financial year, from 1 April 2024, to 31 March 2025, the LBWF Council do owe me £902.69 GBP. My account on the website LBWF Council they have written that the LBWF Council do owe me £620.69 GBP, which is INCORRECT (plus I have paid £141 for January 2025 plus I have paid £141 for February 2025).

During the past 12 months, my 12 payments were debited from my Barclays Bank account. However.

During the past 12 months, only 10 of my 12 payments were credited to my LBWF Council Tax account.

My 3 (three) phone calls this week, to the LBWF Council, comprising my 2 phone calls on Tuesday, 18 March 2025:-

- During my (1st) phone call on Tue, 18 Mar 2025, there were 25 persons in the phone call queue.

- During my (2nd) phone call on Tue, 18 Mar 2025, there were 20 persons in the phone call queue.

My (3rd) phone call on today Thursday, 20 March 2025, from 12:55 to 13:45 (phone call duration 50 minutes, of which 45 minutes “on hold” in a telephone call queue of 15 persons). During which I have talked to a LBWF Council employee named Ms Jaz (she has not provided her surname). Ms Jaz said she could not (would not discuss my LBWF Council Tax account payments, apart from the fact that I have passed LBWF Council’s security protocols because I have provided Ms Jaz with my name, with my home address and with my LBWF Council Tax account reference number. Ms Jaz said that I would have to send a letter to LBWF Council in order to claim a refund of the large amount of money that they owe me. During the past circa 10 years, I have written several letters on several dates, to LBWF Council regarding my Council Tax account, regarding the several errors that they have made (in their favour I.e. they have owed me several amounts of money, which they have initially denied, subsequently refused to refund to me), for periods of from 6 (six) months to circa 2 (two) years, in order for them to reply and to resolve any of the subjects that I have discussed, during the past circa 10 years, I have written several letters on several dates.
on several dates, to LBWF Council regarding my Council Tax account, regarding the several errors that they have made, to no avail.

SUMMARY

- of my Council Tax payments, (all 12 of) which were debited from my Barclays bank account, (only 10 of) which were credited to my Council Tax account, to the London Borough of Waltham Forest (“LBWF”) Council.

During the past 12 months, my 12 payments were debited from my Barclays Bank account. However:-

During the past 12 months, only 10 of my 12 payments were credited to my LBWF Council Tax account:-

(1) Tue, 26 Mar 2024 £139.67
(2) Fri, 26 Apr 2024 £141.00
(3) Tue, 28 May 2024 £141.00
(4) Wed, 26 Jun 2024 £141.00
(5) Fri, 26 Jul 2024 £141.00
(6) Tue, 27 Aug 2024 £141.00
(7) Thu, 26 Sep 2024 £141.00
(8) Mon, 28 Oct 2024 £141.00
(9) Tue, 26 Nov 2024 £141.00
(10) Fri, 27 Dec 2024 £141.00
(11) Mon, 27 Jan 2025 £141.00 (*)
(12) Wed, 26 Feb 2025 £141.00 (**)

(*) and (**) payments were (are) NOT credited to my LBWF Council Tax, during the past circa 2 months (and circa 1 month), from Monday, 27 January 2025, (and from Wednesday, 26 February 2025,) to the current date of today Thursday, 20 March 2025!!

XXXXXXXXXX

Thieving council, took my car permit money and refuse to hand it back despite being in lower emission bracket.

Absolutely appalling. I reported a broken window from January 2024, someone came to look at the window and said it was beyond repair, as the wood in the window had cracked due to no fault of my own. In June I then called to chase up the window, as we had scaffolding all over the building and I didn’t feel safe with me and my daughter being in the house and it being right outside my kitchen window. Someone was sent a few days later, he sealed the window as far as it could go and once again told me that the whole unit would have to be replaced, due to the type of window it is and that he would put in the request. I then chased them up again in October, in which I was told by a member of Morgan and Sindall that they were awaiting approval from Waltham Forest. December 2024, the fire brigade broke that same said window to gain access to my flat, due to me not being in and a leak coming from the flat above me. January 2025 somebody came out and boarded up the window and stated the same thing that I was told before, that the whole window would need replacing. Somebody then came out the following day to measure the window. He also told me he was a surveyor and to get my ceiling and electrics checked due to the leak. I reported it as he said and they sent the wrong engineer (supposedly). I was then told to call Aston group, that engineer then came out and told me they do not deal with the electrics and that it was the company before. Having called Morgan and Sindall again, we established it was in fact them that deal with the type of electrics needed and an appointment was booked. On the 12th Feb, I waited in for the plasterer regarding the ceiling. No one showed up. I called at 4.50 to ask if they were still attending, to be told that someone tried to call me at 11am to inform me that the engineer was sick (no one called) . The 13th Feb the great engineer was due to show up, I got a missed call at 8am this time, which I ignored as I knew it was them calling to tell me the electrician had gone sick and what do you know no one had turned up. I have been calling every week to see what is going on with my window, as I can’t breath in there when cooking, due to there being no window and me not being able to open the kitchen door as one tiny bit of smoke sets off the whole building alarm, only to be told they are awaiting approval from Waltham Forest. I put in a complaint, only to be told that they are waiting on Morgan and Sindall. So who is it?. The walls are now suffering from damp and black mould is now growing on the walls and windows. Absolute joke of a Council

I have just moved from Waltham Forest and having lived in various other boroughs i found Waltham Forest council to be way better and more pro active than others experienced.
-Garden and food waste bins are provided at no extra cost and collections always happened without fail.
- Any reported fly tipping was dealt with immediately.
- My street/ pavements were swept very frequently.
- The trees in street were pollarded / trimmed annually.
- My council tax excess payment was payed back to me quickly and efficiently when i left the borough .
- Shawn who i spoke to was friendly and a great customer service person.

So despite the less favourable reviews i was impressed with Waltham forest Council.

When I moved into my road the attactive feature was the trees, as they have died off, they have not been replaced, the council have told me they do a lot of planting, but not within 6feet or meters, I forget - of a drop curb, I visit Hackney most days, and they don't have this policy, they replace their trees and the borough looks all the better for it.I did think Waltham Forest was a 'green' borough, and trees are important to carbon emissions, well that's what I learnt at school in the 1970's.

One of the worst London borough of Waltham forest
I got resident permit and I move to Newham and I called them to cancel the permit and get refund they told me you will not get any refund really bad council they should help community not hit community
Newham one is the best because they are give me my refund back when I sold my car

Absolutely appalled by the service provided by Waltham Forest recycling services. Over a week late in collecting large items which were booked a month ago!
Got 2 sofas sitting outside my property and emailing them and escalating a complaint amounts to naff all as, from one person to the next, no one seems to be able to deliver on their promises.
It seems as though the collection teams pick and choose whatever they want to do! Turned up one day, moved the sofas, blocking my entrance and didn’t bother to collect!
Incompetent service - guessing the expectation is that people get so fed-up of chasing them that they eventually sort out their issue by paying to get their items removed. Maybe that should reflect in the amount of council tax we pay if you can’t stick to your end of the contract Waltham Forest.
Nothing but time wasting and anxiety caused by this… If you have a large item collection your best bet is to find an alternative means to dispose of this as this is what they want and will result to anyway.
Poor, poor service.

The council are extorting money from motorists, imposing so many restrictions in E17 that anyone unfamiliar to the area WILL get ticketed because half the time thx signs are tiny and/or are obstructed. Deliberate discrimination against disabled and elderly. Useless to appeal. They don't care.

waltham forest college is a college where we all unite as one and dont leave anyone out. When i first joined the college, the student ambassadors helped me get around the school and make me feel welcomed, ive meant new friends and started off in a good invironment thanks to waltham forest college.

Everything about this council is appalling. Absolutely appalling. I've never in my life had the displeasure of dealing with anyone as incompetent as them. And this is across almost all departments. They need to be investigated. Most of us do not have the financial aid to take them to court. The best we can do is get an Ombudsman involved. From 2016 until now all I have had is problem after problem and it looks as if many others feel the same.

Terrible management of direct debit payment method. We were overpaid a council tax refund then hounded with reminders that we had an outstanding balance. This was caused by an administrative error by Waltham Forest, for which the representative on the phone apologised.

The council mostly do a good job and listen to resident's priorities. It's a good place to live and work.

The Libraries are well run