PEOPLE living in Denbighshire have complained they are enduring long waits and calls being cut off when trying to use the council’s general help phone line.

Several residents complained they couldn’t get through on Denbighshire Council’s enquiries line and were repeatedly getting cut off.

Cllr Chris Evans said he had also been contacted by residents unhappy with the service.

“I’ve had complaints from people telling me they can’t get through on the phone,” he said.

“I’ve advised residents to always get a reference number for whatever issue they are reporting so they know the problem is being dealt with or to report it online.

“But elderly people are going to use the phones.”

He added: “It’s not good enough.

“This is what I’ve tried to get over to people: the council is your council. You have to tell them when something is wrong.

“When they set the budget at 9.34% (council tax increase), I stood up and said the grass will still get longer; the litter and fly-tipping will still continue; dog fouling will continue, and Denbighshire residents are getting less bang for their buck. It is wrong.”

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The Local Democracy Reporting Service also dialled the council’s 01824 706000 general enquiries number.

The first two times the number was dialled, the call ended without a ringtone.

During the next two calls, an automated voice informed us the number was unavailable.

On the fifth call, we were placed in a queue for 29 minutes whilst music played and an intermittent pre-recorded voice message apologised for the delay, informing the caller that “all advisors are currently busy and that the call would be answered as quickly as possible”.

The call was then abruptly cut off just before the half-hour mark without apology.

One resident didn’t want to be named but complained: “I called the general number and couldn’t get through. When I finally did, I waited and waited and waited, and they just cut me off without warning.”

Cllr Brian Jones said the matter had been raised with him and he’d reported the matter to a senior officer.

A spokeswoman for Denbighshire County Council said:  “The council is currently experiencing a high level of calls and is encouraging residents to call back later if the query is not urgent.

“In the meantime, they may be able to resolve their query by checking the website on www.denbighshire.gov.uk

“We apologise for the inconvenience and thank residents for their patience.”