Help - hypothetical problem re bin collection.....

dK1NG

Hypothetically speaking, with the increased use of private waste disposal operators, what remedies would a private individual have against such a company for failure to empty a bin? For example, say a household has had problems with their rubbish being emptied, and complained to the operator on numerous occasions. No problems occur in the last six months or so.

One thurs morning their ‘wet’ bin, as opposed to their recycling bin, was not collected. Following a complaint by telephone that same day, they were assured it would be collected later that day. Householder goes to work, leaving the bin out as instructed, and upon returning home not only is the bin full but someone else has also deposited rubbish in it, leaving it full to the brim. An email was subsequently sent to the company in this regard, and, upon them returning the call, they advised to leave the ‘wet’ bin out for collection the coming thurs (even tho this is not its usual collection day – it is only collected every second week) along with the recycling bin.

The following thurs arrives, and only the recycling bin is collected. Further emails/ telephone conversations ensue, and the company deny advising that the bin should be left out for collection. The bin is full, more household rubbish is gathering, (along with a load of dog you-know-what) and the companys response is that they will not empty the bin until its next collection date. Upon being told that this is a vagrant breach of their contractual obligations, and that the householder has guests arriving Saturday evening, they offer to have it collected on Tuesday morning – but this is of no use to the householder in question.:mad: :mad: :mad:

Basically, what I’m asking is what options are available to the householder? Is he entitled to arrange a private contractor to dispose of this rubbish, and be reimbursed by the bin company? What if he advised them that he would be taking this option, they say they will not be willing to pay any resulting costs? Can he do anything to get the rubbish removed, without incurring any expense himself, before his guests arrive, or is it basically tough sh*t – like it or lump it, big companies don’t care about the little individual??

All hypothetical of course - me and my imagination running amok;)

Victor

dK1NG wrote:

Can he do anything to get the rubbish removed, without incurring any expense himself, before his guests arrive,

I don't thinks so. Potentially one takes the refuse to the the council dump.

I imagine the only recourse would be the refund of a collction fee.

dK1NG wrote:

Upon being told that this is a vagrant breach of their contractual obligations

Flagrant breach?

dK1NG

Victor wrote:

I don't thinks so. Potentially one takes the refuse to the the council dump.

I imagine the only recourse would be the refund of a collction fee.

if that is not an option - say he had no way of getting the rubbish there - could he instead hire an independent contractor to dispose of it and then get reimbursed for the cost (approx €50)??

Victor wrote:

Flagrant breach?

lol, was in such a rush i didnt know what i was typing!!!

(i've got vagrants on my brain the whole time:o )




Thanks for your response!:)

johnnyskeleton

dK1NG wrote:

if that is not an option - say he had no way of getting the rubbish there - could he instead hire an independent contractor to dispose of it and then get reimbursed for the cost (approx €50)??

Trusting that this is a hypothetical question (as the money involved is low even for the small claims court), the plaintiff in an action must show that he tried to mitigate his loss. That means that he should act in a manner to incur the least expense. Whatever is the cheapest possible rememdy is the most appropriate, and a plaintiff would normally shop around to see if there are any better deals from contractors, or if there is an alternative method of disposing of the waste.

dK1NG

johnnyskeleton wrote:

Trusting that this is a hypothetical question (as the money involved is low even for the small claims court), the plaintiff in an action must show that he tried to mitigate his loss. That means that he should act in a manner to incur the least expense. Whatever is the cheapest possible rememdy is the most appropriate, and a plaintiff would normally shop around to see if there are any better deals from contractors, or if there is an alternative method of disposing of the waste.

this is all hypothetical of course;
would his attempts at resolving the dispute directly with the bin company count in his favour - seeing as he accepted an initial compromise that the bin would be emptied the following thurs, only for the company to go back on this?
also, the standard cost of hiring an independent contractor to dispose of rubbish is around €50, no cheaper option afaik.

apart from the cost factor, say our hypothetical customer wants to pursue this as a matter of principle at this stage - this being but one of many failures on the part of the bin company (admittedly tho, they have been quite consistent the past no. of months)

thanks for the reply!:)

Patrickof

It really is a sad state of affairs that there is no real recourse in the event of bin companies not fulfilling their duties. Our own provider, turns up randomly at Bank Holiday weekends (we're usually collected every Monday morning), calling even before 7am on the Saturday or sometimes leaving it till the Tuesday. My own guess is that they pay by weight to empty the bin lorry and use this to "catch a few people out" every now and again.

Ringing and complaining is completly ineffective.

dK1NG

Patrickof wrote:

It really is a sad state of affairs that there is no real recourse in the event of bin companies not fulfilling their duties. Our own provider, turns up randomly at Bank Holiday weekends (we're usually collected every Monday morning), calling even before 7am on the Saturday or sometimes leaving it till the Tuesday. My own guess is that they pay by weight to empty the bin lorry and use this to "catch a few people out" every now and again.

Ringing and complaining is completly ineffective.

Bond-007 wrote:

The only recourse is the small claims court for breach of contract.

Something similar happened to a family member where bin was not collected as agreed and the local litter warden issued a €125 fine for leaving the bin out. Bin company failed to respond and only recourse left was the SCC.

Thanks for the replies!

I just found out yesterday that the residents of a nearby housing estate, with the same company, did not get collected either - the day after our hypothetical customer was due to have his bin emptied. Complaints were made, but once again they were told: "tough sh*t, we're not going to do anything about it!"

And this email was sent out today:

"Re: Telephone conversation of 18/05/2007

Please leave your Wet Waste Bin and any additional Wet Waste in Black Bags
out on Wednesday Night for collection on Thursday morning.

Many thanks

Mary"

Typical customer service, if you could call it that!:mad:

Thursday morning being the next collection date for the wet bin!




Oh, and just to reiterate, this is all hypothetical of course!:cool:

Victor

Patrickof wrote:

My own guess is that they pay by weight to empty the bin lorry and use this to "catch a few people out" every now and again.

What do you mean by this?

cast_iron

I was confused about that too, Victor.

I'm guessing he means when they arrive 2 days early (the Sat morning instead of the Mon), the bins are less full, and the lorry pays by weight at the dump, so they save money by not being as full. And the company has a "valid" excuse.

Victor

But the next week they would have to pay more because they would have 9 days rubbish.

Patrickof

What I meant was, they arrive Saturday and most people haven't left out any bins (they were expcting to do it the Tuesday morning after the bank holiday). The trucks get a nice route with only a few bins to collect and they return with a half full truck.

Meanwhile, some of the folks may have to go to the dump themselves to get rid of some rubbish as if the bin is full they can't leave any extra bags beside it the following week (the binmen won't touch any additional bags left with the wheelie bin).

Maybe I'm just too cynical.

I've no problem with them coming on the Saturday, I'd just like if they'd tell us in advance or at least be consistent and do the same for every bank holiday. Bins left out all weekend in the hope of the binmen coming looks unsightly and also gives the impression the house is unoccupied for that weekend.

dK1NG

Patrickof wrote:

What I meant was, they arrive Saturday and most people haven't left out any bins (they were expcting to do it the Tuesday morning after the bank holiday). The trucks get a nice route with only a few bins to collect and they return with a half full truck.

Meanwhile, some of the folks may have to go to the dump themselves to get rid of some rubbish as if the bin is full they can't leave any extra bags beside it the following week (the binmen won't touch any additional bags left with the wheelie bin).

Maybe I'm just too cynical.

I've no problem with them coming on the Saturday, I'd just like if they'd tell us in advance or at least be consistent and do the same for every bank holiday. Bins left out all weekend in the hope of the binmen coming looks unsightly and also gives the impression the house is unoccupied for that weekend.

thats just typical of their attitude tbh!:mad: