Maidstone Reviews 

If you ever want to experience what true administrative chaos looks like, just try paying Council Tax through Maidstone Borough Council. It’s like watching a circus, except the clowns are running the billing department.

My Direct Debit — which I never cancelled — mysteriously vanished. Poof. Gone.
Did anyone tell me? Of course not. Why would they? Communication clearly isn’t part of their job description.

Instead, they quietly stopped taking payments, sat back, and waited for the “arrears” to pile up. Then, in a stroke of genius, they sent every single notice, reminder, and even a court summons to an address where I do not receive post. I’ve told them this repeatedly, but apparently reading emails is optional over there.

Their own online system proudly displayed £0.00 outstanding, no arrears, no missed payments — basically a digital thumbs‑up saying everything was fine. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, they were preparing to drag me to court. Incredible. Truly inspirational levels of incompetence.

And let’s not forget the best part:
They created multiple council tax accounts for the same person, then acted confused when payments didn’t match. Imagine splitting someone into two identities and then blaming THEM for the mess. Oscar‑worthy performance.

After discovering their mess myself (because clearly nobody working there was going to), I had to set up my Direct Debit again and pay the outstanding months manually — all because someone at the council pressed the wrong button, or didn’t press any button at all. Hard to tell.

If you enjoy:

Being ignored

Receiving court summonses you never knew existed

Watching a council contradict its own online system

Cleaning up mistakes you didn’t make

And dealing with staff who seem allergic to competence

…then Maidstone Borough Council is the place for you.

For everyone else: avoid them like a pothole on the M20.

Did not keep their word on a repair/ replacement.

The thing that made my experience great was how reliable Mark and Phil were - kept in touch with the progress of my cabinet and offered me some great suggestions, that I happily took on board and went with it.

To say the least, I was very satified with the end result and am always happy to stop and have a chat with them whenever I bump into either or both of them.

I would happily recommend this company. Out of all the kitchen cabinet making company's in the Upper Hutt region - Maidstone Kitchen's were the most reliable and the best priced !

Tried for the4th time for a bulk item collection, no available collections AGAIN. Each time it takes 10 minutes to get that far on the app, only to lose it! They always fail to collect my garden waste to!
3K I pay for this!

My son and both daughters use mr clutch Maidstone for mot’s and persuaded me to go there when an engine management light came up. Dave and his staff sorted out the problem in double time many thanks 😊

Maidstone blue badge shame is a total disgrace.
Councils in Kent off blue badges to just about anyone and everyone, meaning that even though I am physically disabled, I am never able to get a disability space in car parks etc.
I often see people with a blue badge using disabled spaces when they have full mobility and have no need to use a disability space.
Blue badges should not be issued to just anyone and everyone, they should only be offered to those like myself who have very limited or no mobility at all… so that we are able to get a space close to where we need to be.

Staff were very polite nothing to much trouble. Very clean and tidy.

Our bin men are great , on recycling day I had several cardboard boxes and they took them all, thank you so much keep up the good work , staplehurst resident 😊

I previously reported a dog attack, and this wasn't the first time I've reported an incident involving the same dog. The automated reply stated that "Reports are reviewed and assessed within three working days," yet I've received no response at all.

It feels like the lack of action is influenced by the fact that the dog handler is white and has connections, while I do not. This gives the impression that the law is applied selectively, which raises serious concerns about fairness and equality.

Rather than sending letters based on unfounded accusations without proper investigation, I urge you to ensure that all reports are treated fairly and that everyone is treated equally, regardless of background.
Ref#:DIG637807801

I think it’s terrible that you send default letters threatening court action/fees erroneously.
Yet again, due to admin errors on their part, I have received a default notice on my council tax account, despite never missing a monthly payment.
When I logged on yesterday to pay this months payment, the payment plan was still in place and showing no missed/defaulted payments!
It’s creates terrible anxiety needlessly, as I now can’t ring until Monday, so that’s my weekend ruined. Thanks

My family and I recently had the unfortunate displeasure of staying at Orida Hotel for two nights, and our experience was nothing short of a nightmare.

During our stay, we encountered a terrifying incident where individuals attempted to force open our room door. Despite immediately reporting the incident to the management, we were met with nothing but dismissiveness and denial. The head of operations, in particular, displayed a shocking lack of concern and professionalism, going as far as to fabricate stories about reviewing CCTV footage that, conveniently, didn't exist outside our room.

Even more appalling was the complete disregard for guest safety exhibited by the general manager, who not only failed to address our concerns but also blatantly ignored multiple emails detailing the traumatic event. It's clear that the management team at Orida Hotel is sorely lacking in both competence and empathy, allowing such incidents to occur unchecked.

The only saving grace during our ordeal was the attempt at resolution made by one of the administrators, who showed genuine concern and effort in rectifying the situation. It's a shame that the staff members seem to possess more integrity and compassion than their own managers.

In conclusion, I strongly advise against staying at Orida Hotel unless you're willing to risk your safety and endure the appalling treatment from its incompetent management team. Save yourself the trouble and find accommodation elsewhere where guest security and satisfaction are actually prioritized.

Poor service by Maidstone Council rubbish collections. the bins are being missed on a regular basis and when reported are not collected. Making a complaint is a waste of time even contacting the MP is a further waste of time. Seems no one cares about the issues. Rate went up massively at the start of April yet the service is getting worse. Food bins are a feeding facility for the foxes and badgers as they are full and left out and when knocked over it is easy for the wild life to get a meal and the mess is all over the pavements, This is what we pay for? Vote day in May need to send a message to our councillors. We expect a better deal from the Maidstone Borough Council.

I would not recommend buying a kitchen from Wickes in Maidstone.The staff were extremely rude and unhelpful. Infact they would not allow me to buy a kitchen.

I rang my local Wickes to book in an appointment to buy a kitchen.

I first spoke to a lady called E******. I said can I please book an appointment for this Friday for myself and a friend to come in and buy a kitchen.

Her reply was well how much do you want to spend? She then went on to say about the cheaper end and the higher end. I said it was a really small kitchen so would probably be somewhere in the middle. Well we need you to be more specific. She then went on to say what tops did we want did we want to buy the more expensive tops?
I said to her that we need to come in and go all through that whilst in store so we can see. She said well we need to know before!
I then said it was for my friend and that we would decide when we come in. She said well get her to ring me and i told her she was at work, she then said she couldn’t book me an appointment then! I said so you are not going to let us come in and buy a kitchen then? She said no!
I then said let me speak to your manager. She put P****** on the phone. I told him who I was and said the kitchen was for me and I want to book an appointment for Friday.He said that I said it was for my friend and that we should come in to look at the kitchens….. I don’t want to come in and look at the kitchens we know which one she wants we just want to come in and order it! He then said it was a hoax! And so I said again so you are not going to let me come in on Friday and order a kitchen to which he said no it’s hoax!
This is absolutely abhorrent behaviour, I am more than shocked and upset. I put the phone down and rang Homebase, I said hello can I book an appointment for me and a friend to come in on Friday to plan and buy a kitchen.

The man said yes of course shall we say 10:00am and there it was booked! He then went on to tell me what measurements he required.
So to end we went Homebase in Allington on Friday and spent £8000 on a kitchen with a lovely young man named Tony.

Used the pre app service for planning, Apparently their planners couldn't be bothered to read the submitted documents and just made up a response, i had to pay for a second round of pre app advice which was also something Chat GPT or even basic google could have responded to better than MBCs planning officers. In the end I had to threaten legal action, they admitted their planning officers had failed to provide appropriate advice and refunded the money paid. However the bad advice still remains on record to "guide" future planning decisions, essentially meaning ill have to take legal action if they do use it. Generally an incompetent set of individuals who are taking advantage of the fact pre app advice is now paid for.