THERE are times, no doubt, when Oxford City Council gets criticised unfairly, but there are also times when I think they have forgotten what customer service is. My reason for saying this is quite simple: take the subject of bulk waste collection.

I rang the council, requesting the collection of a vacuum cleaner that no longer works.

It appears that although they will collect refrigerators and the like, for some reason they will not collect vacuum cleaners.

Now, if I were a driver and owned a car I would, of course, take the unwanted item to my local recycling centre.

Alas I do not, and even if I could walk the cleaner to the centre, for safety reasons, pedestrians are not allowed in.

I’m sure there must be many other residents within the city who have faced a similar problem, so a resolution to this type of situation must be found.

The council rightly condemns fly-tipping, as do I, and I will store my unwanted cleaner until I can dispose of it in a responsible manner. In the meantime, I will pacify my frustration and anger by reminding myself that local elections are due to take place in a few weeks time, and I will be able to use my vote, hopefully, to change the constituency of the local council.

R JAMES

Mortimer Road

Rose Hill