New App Helps Public Report Problems

Report Potholes, Smog, Overcharges, More

You’re driving down a County road, and you see a pothole, a flooded culvert, or a damaged street sign. Or you’ve been overcharged by a faulty price-scanner, see a business pumping out smog, notice a building slimed with graffiti or an abandoned junker car sitting at the corner.

But you’re in a hurry. You don’t have time to figure out who to call or email for help.

No worries! Just use the County of San Diego’s free “Tell Us Now!” app. Snap a quick picture and add some text on your smartphone and send! The app will alert someone to clean up the mess, repair the sign or fix that error!

Tell Us Now! will let the public report retail overcharges and air quality issues regionwide. If the complaint is about a road or code compliance issue that isn’t under the County’s authority, the app will tell you, and share who to call to fix it.

The app allows the public to contact the County’s Department of Agriculture, Weights, and Measures on issues pertaining to gas pumps, price verification and commercial scales regionwide; and the Air Pollution Control District for questions/complaints about smoke, smells, dust, illegal burns, asbestos, unpermitted operations and other items regionwide.

It also allows the public to contact County Code Compliance with complaints and questions about waste, graffiti, illegal grading and construction, and inoperable vehicles in unincorporated areas; and the County Department of Public Works about a host of road-related issues on County-maintained roads in unincorporated areas, including: drainage, road maintenance, signs and traffic issues.

Tell Us Now! builds on the County’s commitment to customer service by making County systems more efficient, resulting in faster response times. The public can submit complaints and questions immediately, when they see them, and directly into County computer systems. The app will also allow customers to track the progress of their complaints as the County looks into them. The Tell Us Now! app will also give County employees more information — and photos — to use to conduct investigations.

To use the Tell Us Now! app, choose one of the four categories currently available, and continue to the specific issue. Touch the camera icon, snap a photo or video, fill out the question fields, add your contact info, and hit “Submit.”

The app is available in the app stores for iPhone and Android smartphones.