Letter: New Forest correspondent’s tip about tip booking almost tipped me over the edge
AFTER reading the letter in your newspaper (26th April), saying how easy it is to book a slot at the tip, I thought I’d have a go via my smartphone.
I’ve not been there for years, because I pay the extra fee on my council tax for the garden waste, but this was to get rid of general household rubbish.
I registered my car number plate, name, address etc – all seemed very easy, then I picked a time slot for the next day. It appeared to me that I was booked in.
That seemed straightforward – so next day I loaded up the car and off I trundled over our pot-holed roads. Only three cars queuing; this is great I think, until the guy checking the cars comes over saying I’m not on his list and not registered, and can he see an e-mail? I get out my phone to find there is no internet, but you can see I have NFDC waste in my search history.
I explain this is my first time – no one attempts to check with the booking office that I have registered my car the day before, or attempts to explain what I may have done wrong in trying to use this booking system.
The boss comes over saying I can’t use the tip – by now there are five empty bays and no cars queuing. I ask for a phone number to make a complaint, and to sort out myself why the booking slot has not been recorded on the system, only to find out there is not even a phone network at the tip!
How can you expect to run a booking system and have no way to check without the internet / phone available?
I end up driving home, a 16-mile round trip, with all the rubbish in the car. Traffic has now backed up to the tip entrance from Everton because of road works. Another half-hour wasted.
At home I phone the number given waiting another 20 minutes for someone to answer, with messages every three minutes saying how easy it is to book via the internet. Well not in my experience!
How do people with no smartphone / internet use this system – why can’t we just use the tip as we used to, a facility we pay for via our massive council taxes?
Mark Stevens
New Milton
