Mr Binman arrives in the city!

mike65

and he is spamming housholders with free bin collection for rest of the year!

Actually having just done the maths, I'll be no better off using Mr Binman but for some it may work out.

Mike.

Freddie59

mike65 wrote: »

and he is spamming housholders with free bin collection for rest of the year!

Actually having just done the maths, I'll be no better off using Mr Binman but for some it may work out.

Mike.

What's the story with these guys Mike? I thought I received it in error and that it was aimed at the County. Do you still have to pay the standing charge to the Corpo?

mike65

No annual charge to the City "just" 340 to Mr Binman. Which means that until the current annual charge period lapses people might be slow to sign up. Bad timing from Mr Binman I think.

Mike.

Jor

Bad timing indeed.
I just heard on WLR that they don't even have a permit to work in the City area yet.

As for the numbers, if you do not need your bin collected more often than what the CC are doing ( 1 bin per week ), then even taking the annual charge into account, you won't save much.
However, large famailies who would fill up bins more often ( esp. the grey bin ) would be able to take advantage of the more regular collections without it costing too much.

christophicus

Yeah it works out well for us. I'm in the ardkeen , are you saying they do not have a licence to collect bins here?

Freddie59

mike65 wrote: »

No annual charge to the City "just" 340 to Mr Binman. Which means that until the current annual charge period lapses people might be slow to sign up. Bad timing from Mr Binman I think.

Mike.

Indeed. Coupled with the licence issue it sounds a better idea to hold off as you suggest. Thanks.:)

south

no good to me either at that price ..
http://www.waterford-news.com/news/story/?trs=cwqlausnsn&cat=news

Kotek Besar

Naive as I may be for perhaps not reading up on it properly, last week I signed up to MrBinman through their website. They're offering free collections until the end of the year. That, together with the weekly collection of the grey bin and the hassle-free tagless system, made me decide to go for it.

Seemed like a good idea at the time. But that said, almost a week's passed since I registered my details online, and I'm still awaiting receipt of my doing so. No letter, no email, no phone call.

Sully

Not a great start, but maybe they are swamped? Try calling them - espically if you gave your credit card details!

echosound

Council have been handing out letters to households today stating he doesn't have a licence to collect for waterford city, only waterford county. Anyone know if he does or not? Not that I'll be changing over anyway,the current scheme suits me better, am just curious?

Kotek Besar

echosound wrote: »

Council have been handing out letters to households today stating he doesn't have a licence to collect for waterford city, only waterford county. Anyone know if he does or not? Not that I'll be changing over anyway,the current scheme suits me better, am just curious?

Perhaps I've not lived here long enough to make correct judgment, but surely as the city of Waterford is within the county of Waterford, then a license for Waterford county would cover everywhere within the county - including the city.

mike65

They are two seperate entities in terms of local governance.

Mike.

Kotek Besar

mike65 wrote: »

They are two seperate entities in terms of local governance.

Mike.

Ah, I see.

mike65

We tolerate our country bumkin cousins! (and they pay a fortune for waste disposal by the county council)

Mike.

mike65

Just got that council letter, its a bit odd in that as Mr Binman has no permit to operate then why does a large part of the letter take adopt a defensive tone? Does anyone know the proceedure to enter a "market" thats controlled 100% by the council?

Council letter

Mike

Kotek Besar

mike65 wrote: »

Just got that council letter, its a bit odd in that as Mr Binman has no permit to operate then why does a large part of the letter take adopt a defensive tone? Does anyone know the proceedure to enter a "market" thats controlled 100% by the council?

Council letter

Mike

That makes for interesting reading, thanks Mike. Slightly off topic, but does anyone know if the Waterford City Council service charge of €140 can be paid monthly?

mike65

Nope as far as I know.

Meanwhile

http://www.waterford-news.com/news/story/?trs=cwqlcwgbsn&cat=news
and
http://www.waterford-news.com/news/story/?trs=cwqlcwgbid&cat=news

Mr Binmans causing some trouble!

Mike.

Kotek Besar

I was surprised to have a visit on Sunday just gone, from a courier sent by MrBinman, delivering my new bin stickers, recycling bags, collection calendar and other such welcoming goodies. All I have to do now is make the phone call (and make a payment), and my collections will start - according to the welcome pack. Only thing is, I'm a bit scared to do this in case I'm sent to prison. Oh, what to do?

fricatus

benifa wrote: »

Only thing is, I'm a bit scared to do this in case I'm sent to prison. Oh, what to do?

Prison??? PRISON??? By Jove, hanging's too good for you!!!!

mike65

Well the article suggests it'll be 12 weeks before they can get going unless the court injunction they threaten works. Its a mess. I'm surprised you put your faith in a service not yet running tbh.

Mike.

Kotek Besar

That's exactly it - I'm sceptical about going with them and paying anything whilst it's all up in the air like this. Meanwhile, my house stinks. You know, I think I'll pay Waterford City Council their €140 pro-rata until the end of the year (it'll only be about €20 or there abouts). Then, come January, see what's the score then. Bit sneaky of Kilkenny County Council isn't it, if what MrBinman are claiming is true?..

Kotek Besar

Looks like Mr Binman are subcontracting to a third party company who already have a permit for Waterford City, pending acquisition of their own permit. Smart move I think. Anyway, I rang them up on Friday to ask what they say about the fiasco. The girl on the phone told me, and I quote, "don't worry about a thing. The council are basically trying to say we don't have a permit when we do. We started collections last week".

Kotek Besar

So my collections began last Thursday..

Really impressed. Having recently moved from an apartment to a house, I've no basis for comparison, but Mr Binman seem absolutely fine to me. They were only scheduled to collect the grey and green bin, but to my pleasant surprise I came home to find that they'd pulled out my brown bin and emptied that too! Talk about going the extra mile. (sorry, but I get excited about simple things). Anyway, I'm recommending them.

ztoical

benifa wrote: »

Bit sneaky of Kilkenny County Council isn't it, if what MrBinman are claiming is true?..

I must have missed that, what did he claim kilkenny county council did?

Kotek Besar

ztoical wrote: »

I must have missed that, what did he claim kilkenny county council did?

Apparently, Mr Binman applied 18 months ago for a permit to operate in Waterford City, but they didn't receive a response until they started canvassing new customers here. “We were told that we will have to re-apply and we see this as a stalling tactic and not great business practice,” Mr. Binman’s General Manager, Joe Cleary said (allegedly).

From http://www.waterford-news.com/news/story/?trs=cwqlcwgbsn&cat=news

Traumadoc

I recently moved to waterford and could not believe the procedure for bins- every 3rd week and you had to out and buy bin tag. to attach to your bin.

I signed up to Mr Binman, had my first collection this week - caused some confusion in the estate as the neighbours were all panicky they had missed bin day, remember its 3 weeks between collections.:D

Great Service - they treat you like a customer not an inconvenience.

Sully

Friend beside me said the council sent them a letter advising not to go with Mr. Binman, so they didnt.. Sad really.

ztoical

benifa wrote: »

Apparently, Mr Binman applied 18 months ago for a permit to operate in Waterford City, but they didn't receive a response until they started canvassing new customers here. “We were told that we will have to re-apply and we see this as a stalling tactic and not great business practice,” Mr. Binman’s General Manager, Joe Cleary said (allegedly).

From http://www.waterford-news.com/news/story/?trs=cwqlcwgbsn&cat=news

o right so you meant waterford not kilkenny

Kotek Besar

ztoical wrote: »

o right so you meant waterford not kilkenny

No mate, Kilkenny.

"..Kilkenny Co. Council is the authority in the South East heading up the waste strategy programme and, in consultation with other local authorities in the region, is responsible for granting or refusing permits.

And that’s the problem yet to be resolved. Eighteen months ago, Mr. Binman, which charges a flat annual fee of €340 annually for the weekly collection, applied for a permit to operate the service.

Mr. Binman’s General Manager, Joe Cleary claims that they received no response until a week ago when they canvassed new customers in the city. “We were told that we will have to re-apply and we see this as a stalling tactic and not great business practice,” he said."

From: http://www.waterford-news.com/news/story/?trs=cwqlcwgbsn&cat=news

mike65

Someone at the top of my road has a black sack with a tag on it when I went past this morning so I guess he's signed up.

Mike.

Traumadoc

they came too early today, called them up , they will come around tomorrow- great service

Kotek Besar

This morning at 10:15 I went downstairs to collect the post. There was a hand-delivered envelope addressed simply as "urgent". I opened it and it was from Mr Binman. It contained bin tags for Waterford City Council!

I'll scan and upload the letter later, for those who are interested, but basically it says that Mr Binman's contract with the other company they've been sub-contracting it's work to in Waterford City (for permit reasons), has expired. Therefore, until the end of the year, we Mr Binman customers are to use Waterford City Council at no extra cost to ourselves.

Seems fair enough to me. One thing though, I don't know the timetable for Waterford City Council's collections. I found http://www.waterfordcity.ie/environment/timetables.htm but it seems not to be working. I'm in Williamstown Glen. Can anyone advise? Thanks.

south

benifa wrote: »

This morning at 10:15 I went downstairs to collect the post. There was a hand-delivered envelope addressed simply as "urgent". I opened it and it was from Mr Binman. It contained bin tags for Waterford City Council!

I'll scan and upload the letter later, for those who are interested, but basically it says that Mr Binman's contract with the other company they've been sub-contracting it's work to in Waterford City (for permit reasons), has expired. Therefore, until the end of the year, we Mr Binman customers are to use Waterford City Council at no extra cost to ourselves.

Seems fair enough to me. One thing though, I don't know the timetable for Waterford City Council's collections. I found http://www.waterfordcity.ie/environment/timetables.htm but it seems not to be working. I'm in Williamstown Glen. Can anyone advise? Thanks.

while I'm not 100% sure i think it's back bin this Monday 24th followed by the green bin next Monday and brown the Monday after. i know thats the way for the johns hill grange heights area and i'd say you're on the same route.

Sully

And there back They are now offical recognised in Waterford City & County.

For the first month, its free. After that, €28 a month ("Thats only €7 a week!")

They will collect your black and recycling bin every week. The brown bin every two weeks and you get 104 free recycling bags!

Signup online:: www.mrbinman.com or 1890 92 92 45 (9AM - 8PM weekdays, 9am - 5pm Saturday and 1pm -5pm Sundays)

Kotek Besar

Sully wrote: »

And there back They are now offical recognised in Waterford City & County.

For the first month, its free. After that, €28 a month ("Thats only €7 a week!")

They will collect your black and recycling bin every week. The brown bin every two weeks and you get 104 free recycling bags!

Signup online:: www.mrbinman.com or 1890 92 92 45 (9AM - 8PM weekdays, 9am - 5pm Saturday and 1pm -5pm Sundays)

You on commission Sully? lol.

Sully

I wish :P Wonder how much id get if I asked?

Nah I think tis great to see a bit of compo in Waterford!

Kotek Besar

It's funny, about half an hour before you posted, I called them up, asking what the story is with their collection (because the WCC tags they gave free are running out). The girl was quite short with me on the phone "yes, we'll be collecting tomorrow" (or words to that effect). Her tone sounded as though she was irritated by my asking! Like, were we supposed to guess when they start back up again or something? Perhaps she was in a bad mood.

Sully

Got a dodgy person there Maybe shes getting plastered with calls? Theres lot of news articles in the paper and advertisements so im sure people are asking stupid questions like "Is it true?"

mike65

:eek:

Mike.

Kotek Besar

Nice duvet Mike!

Kotek Besar

Right, I called Mr Binman up on Wednesday just gone, to find out what the situation is with their collections. I was told, rather abruptly, that they now have a valid permit and my bins will be emptied tomorrow (yesterday) as per schedule. Right, I thought, fair enough, thank you very much.

Yesterday came (Thursday) and I put my bins out bright and early, then off I set to work. I returned from work at 5pm to find the bins had not been emptied! :eek: Thinking this was late but giving them the benefit of the doubt, I called them straight away, at 5pm, and asked the girl nicely what time my collection was due. She told me the bin van had broken down earlier but is now fixed, sorry for the delay, and my bins "would definitely be collected later today". Again, fair enough, is what I thought.

At 9pm, they'd still not been collected. Am I stupid for still having the bins out, believing that they'd definitely be collected later today? :rolleyes: Sigh. I called them up, expected an answerphone service, and there was one. I left a message explaining how disappointed I am, and please can you give me a call in the morning to tell me what's going on. It's now 12.50pm, and no phone call, no bin collection. :mad:

Is it worth it? I'm seriously thinking of cancelling the whole thing and going back to WCC.

mike65

Teething troubles as they will no doubt say. Given the huge splash they are making via various media (check this weeks papers) they can't afford to let peeps down more than once or twice at most in the early weeks.

Mike.

Kotek Besar

mike65 wrote: »

Teething troubles as they will no doubt say. Given the huge splash they are making via various media (check this weeks papers) they can't afford to let peeps down more than once or twice at most in the early weeks.

Mike.

Right you are. Actually I just called them up. "He's coming today, he'll be with you later". No sign of an apology though. I asked why didn't they return my call. "Did you leave a voicemail? Our voicemail system isn't working - they're being deleted before we get to listen to them." Right I see, so that's your bin vans and your phones that are having teething problems. Ok. Anyway, bins being collected "later today". Allegedly. :rolleyes:

Traumadoc

They collected very early one day I was too late- I called them they returned the next day- no problems - anyway it beats having to wait 3 weeks and having to buy those tags.

Kotek Besar

Traumadoc wrote: »

They collected very early one day I was too late- I called them they returned the next day- no problems..

You see, that is good service, and in fairness they have been good in the past (at first). They've just got my goat up the past couple of days, with the lack of communication and blazé attitude. Oh, and I didn't appreciate being blatantly lied to either, and not just once. I'll see how they are next week before cancelling anyway, I think that's fair.

racram

Hi I'm thinking of switching to Mr Binman as the three week cycle of bin collection doesn't work for our family. Can you tell me, Do the council let us keep our bins if we switch or do Mr. Binman provide bins?

Kotek Besar

racram wrote: »

Hi I'm thinking of switching to Mr Binman as the three week cycle of bin collection doesn't work for our family. Can you tell me, Do the council let us keep our bins if we switch or do Mr. Binman provide bins?

I wondered this too.

I kept my WCC bins and stuck the rather large Mr Binman stickers over the WCC logo. WCC haven't asked for their bins back, and Mr Binman haven't offered to provide me any.. So I'm just acting dumb.

Would nice to know the official procedure though. I mean, are the WCC bins our property upon receipt (like a Sky digibox when you subscribe to Sky), or do we loan them (like an NTL digibox when you subscribe to NTL). Hopefully someone in the know will come on and clarify that.

Sully

benifa wrote: »

Would nice to know the official procedure though. I mean, are the WCC bins our property upon receipt (like a Sky digibox when you subscribe to Sky), or do we loan them (like an NTL digibox when you subscribe to NTL). Hopefully someone in the know will come on and clarify that.

Iv asked Mr Binman to clarify, and they told me that basically you can keep the council bins and Mr Binman will re-brand the bins for you after you join. If the council do take the bins away, they will replace them free of charge.

Kotek Besar

Sully wrote: »

Iv asked Mr Binman to clarify, and they told me that basically you can keep the council bins and Mr Binman will re-brand the bins for you after you join. If the council do take the bins away, they will replace them free of charge.

Thanks Sully. Right, um, ok. So Mr Binman are telling us to keep the bins so they can re-brand them as their own, but if WCC remove the bins then Mr Binman will give us some new ones. That's certainly a very practical solution from Mr Binman, but the question remains - who do the bins belong to?

If the bins belong to WCC: Surely WCC have a right to take them back and if Mr Binman re-branded then it's vandalism and theft.

If the bins belong to Mr Binman: WCC have no business taking them away, and to do so would be theft.

If the bins belong to us: WCC have no business taking them away, and to do so would be theft. If my bins are old and smelly and Mr Binman are offering new ones for free, I'd like a set please.

Still confused..

Sully

Ill ask the council tommrow, I have to call them anyway.

Sully

Spoke with the council. The bins they provide to you - you own. Mr.Binman can put there own brand over it, and this is perfectly acceptable. The bins are yours, nobody elses.

All Mr.BinMan will do is re-brand it.