FURTHER to the comments made by your correspondent Paul Wright (letters October 9) I took the opportunity of raising a question at October s council meeting about the number of complaints it had received regarding rubbish collection through its Customer R

FURTHER to the comments made by your correspondent Paul Wright (letters October 9) I took the opportunity of raising a question at October's council meeting about the number of complaints it had received regarding rubbish collection through its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.

This was a consequence of the catalogue of problems highlighted by many Liberal Democrat councillors on behalf of their residents at July's council meeting. As a result of the pressure exerted by those councillors during the extensive dialogue underscoring Veolia's numerous deficiencies, a commitment was wrung from the Tory administration that they would resolve the problems about poor performance by taking control of the complaints process. It was, after all, they who had been responsible for setting up and agreeing the conditions under which the contract had been agreed.

The reply given was that the information on the number of complaints was: "Not yet available. There has been a need to co-ordinate the handling of customer issues and responses with Veolia."

It is regrettable, despite the assurances given by the Tories, that after three months nothing has been done to provide residents with a means of recording their dissatisfaction of the service other than through their correspondence with the local newspaper. It may be the Tories hope that with time it will all pass by and be forgotten.

This is unlikely given the fundamental flaws in the contract they have negotiated and this is but one of the manifestations of trying to get a service on the cheap. It illustrates vividly their misplaced belief that Veolia would undertake self regulation of its operation. A similar perception recently held by central Government of the financial services sector where a failure to regulate has produced a collapse in the banking system.

Until the Tories get their priorities right, residents frustrated with the level of service should continue to phone the council and ask for their problem to be catalogued and remedied.

CLLR NEIL MORRISON

Littleport West Ward

East Cambridgeshire District Council