Some time ago, after asking our dustman to replace our bins after emptying them, in the place he had taken them from, I received a torrent of abuse which culminated in him swearing at me.

I complained to South Hams District Council about this and was assured that it would not happen again, Letters, April 21, but it did and more than once.

Previously, I had phoned the council and spent almost 25 minutes waiting for somebody to answer the phone while being bombarded by recorded messages extolling the virtues of its email service.

Is there anything more annoying than listening to repeated recorded messages?

Well yes, of course there is, having your toe gnawed by a rat while trying to sleep is very annoying. I must admit I have no personal experience of this but I was told it was so by an old sailor I met many years ago.

So, I decided to use the much-vaunted email complaints procedure. I wouldn’t recommend it, it took about a month to get a reply. I’m in my 70th year. How long do these people think I’ve got?

However, the long-awaited email reply was very encouraging. It said they would have a word with the collections people and emphasise to them the importance of returning the bins to their correct locations and further, they would be monitoring the situation to ensure that everything was well.

Last Wednesday, bin collection day, I returned from Dartmouth library to find once again I was devoid of bins.

I rang them once again. I spoke to a very pleasant young lady who said they had somebody looking into the situation and would ring me shortly. Needless to say, nobody did, nor on the next day either.

I really feel that I must be the most gullible person in the town as truth slowly dawned upon me. I had been misled by the council all the long.

All their righteous platitudes and promises to resolve the situation amount to absolutely nothing. They have done nothing, propose to do nothing and seemingly, it is also perfectly permissible for their dustmen to swear at the customers and discard empty bins wheresoever they feel like.

So be warned, you may be next on the binmen’s hit-list.

John McHale

Carey Road

Dartmouth