Council Departments

Customer Services

Customer Services aims to deliver a wide range of flexible and accessible services that offer real support to our community and positively affects the wellbeing of those living and working in the borough.

You are at the heart of our services

We are leading a more customer focused way of delivering services.

To make sure you can access the services you want when you want them we are making sure you can request or get in touch with us in as many different ways as possible, including the internet, email, telephone and face to face.

Our A-Z directory puts you in touch with the most-used telephone numbers for your council services.

To help us get it just right Tell Us your suggestions and comments on the services we provide so we can tailor them to your needs.

Services just for you

We deliver a range of important services for you and with you in mind. We:

Are the first point of contact for council services through our call centre and One Stop Shops
Deter crime and reduce fear through teams like the Street Wardens
Respond to antisocial behaviour and environmental crime with tough preventative measures
Provide high quality free consumer advice through our Consumer Support Network
Enforce consumer law with Trading Standards
Support our business community with our Local Business Partnership
Advise on licensing issues
Protect employees and employers with health and safety advice and information
Manage around 20,000 council properties and over 1,000 leasehold flats
Offer proactive housing advice to help prevent homelessness and establish a fair system to help people successfully bid for a council home
Make sure homes are decent by government date of 2010 using projects like the Stock Investment Programme
Promote opportunities for Council tenants to get involved in housing decisions through Community Housing Partnerships and tenant participation
Manage the repairs and major works programme
Maintain and collect council rent and business rates, dealing with housing benefit and council tax benefits for all those eligible
Keep our borough cleaner, greener and safer by keeping our streets clean, leading on recycling and protecting the environment
Keep our parks clean, tidy and well maintained
Invest in our highways and footpath maintenance and improvement
Enforce parking restrictions to ensure the free flow of traffic

We also have a strong Performance, Policy and Programmes Team that manages a whole range of core business support functions for our Customer Services Department.

The department is made up of 4 main areas:

Barking and Dagenham Direct (Contact Centre)|

The contact centre and one stop shops are working to ensure our customers are at the heart of our services offering high-quality customer care and easier access to council services.

We also provide rent collection services which collect rent from over 20,000 council tenants, deal with housing and council tax benefits for all those eligible and collect business rates.

Environmental and Enforcement Services|

We keep our borough's streets clean, collect black bag waste and orange bag recyclables as well as manage enforcement teams that tackle environmental crime and help protect your consumer rights. We also carry out highways repairs and maintenance of highways and carry out parking enforcement.

Housing Services|

We provide services to over 20,000 residents including Homelessness and Housing Advice, Housing Services, Community Housing Partnerships, Stock Investments and the Enterprise Contract.

Revenues and Benefits|

We collect rent from over 20,000 council tenants, deal with housing and council tax benefits for all those eligible and collect business rates.

Customer Services Strategy

Making sure you can access the services you want when you want them, we are making sure you can request or get in touch with us in as many different ways as possible, including the internet, email, telephone, face to face all through Tell Us.