Councils reveal bizarre customer service calls
Trying to register the death of a person who is not yet dead, asking where pest control officers buy their rifles and seeking an explanation of the plot of an 18th century play are some of the more unusual queries council call centres have dealt with over the past year.
Council customer service centres handle more than 50 million calls each year, most of which are from people wanting information about council tax, environmental services or parking.
Others however leave council call centre advisors scratching their heads and sometimes struggling to keep a straight face.
One caller to Surrey County Council, which receives nearly 500,000 calls a year, wanted to know whether he was allowed to roll up a zebra crossing, while another wanted to speak to staff at a library to enquire whether she had left her false teeth there.
In Northumberland, a German man went into the customer services reception area declaring he wanted political asylum. He refused to leave despite staff explaining that people who live in Europe are free to come and go as they please, and the police had to eventually be called.
A motorist who discovered her car was in a different parking spot when she returned from a shopping trip rang Sutton Council to ask if the car park was haunted, while another resident enquired whether he could put a dead fox in his recycling bin.
The top 10 bizarre calls to councils:
1.Can I register the death of a person even though they aren’t dead yet? (Surrey)
2.I’ve tried the number given on your website for the library but it doesn’t work. What was the number? 0900 1800. I’m sorry those are the times the library is open between. (Surrey)
3.I've heard there are dolphins in Cardigan Bay and we'd like to travel down for the day to see them. What time do they start? (Ceredigion)
4.Do you know where I could get an old bath that I could fill with custard? (Sutton)
5.Can you explain the plot of ‘She Stoops to Conquer’? (East Dorset District Council’s Tourist Information Centre)
6.Am I allowed to shoot a gun across a public footpath? (Surrey)
7.A local resident in Cologne, Germany: I am standing at a bus stop and the bus hasn’t turned up – what should I do next? (East Dorset District Council’s Tourist Information Centre)
8.Am I allowed to roll up a zebra crossing? (Surrey)
9.Can you tell me the make of the guns your pest control officers use to shoot starlings as I’d like to buy one? (Northumberland)
10.A local resident in South Korea: Can you order me a Christmas turkey from the butchers please? (East Dorset District Council’s Tourist Information Centre)
Baroness Eaton, chairman of the Local Government Association which represents more than 350 councils in England and Wales, said:
“These examples show just how broad a range of issues council staff deal with each day. Councils literally have to be ready for anything from the mundane to the mind-boggling.
“Councils try to help callers with support and advice as much as they possibly can. While the vast majority of calls fall within the bounds of councils’ usual responsibilities, there are occasions when call handlers are left baffled.
“The fact that councils are so often the first port of call for residents who are seeking a solution to their problems shows just how central a role councils play in the lives of their communities. While councils offer more than 800 local services, some requests really are beyond them.”
