Can you refuse credit card payment?

bnagrrl

I ordered a skip last weekend which was delivered on Tues. The skip was full by Tues afternoon, rang the skip company and was assured it would be collected Wed morn. It wasn't. I've rang several times since then and each time been told it will be collected later today/first thing tomorrow. The last time I rang was this morn at noon and was told the skip would definitely be collected by 2pm. I explained to the man who answered the phone we are due to have deliveries made to the house this afternoon (we're having an extension built) but the blocks etc cannot by delivered while the skip is there as it takes up the whole driveway and blocks access to the side passage. He assured me a driver would phone me asap to confirm collection. It's now 4pm, I haven't been contacted by any driver and I've tried to call the skip company again but they are closed since 1pm. There is nothing on the delivery docket to say that they can refuse/delay/postpone collection of skips etc.

The skip is now attracting gypsies (Irish and Roma) who are rummaging through it and dumping the stuff they don't want around the driveway/front of the house rather than back in the skip. So I want the skip gone immediately.

I've now had to cancel the delivery of the blocks which the builder wants to charge me for to arrange another delivery time and it has also pushed back the start date of construction. :mad:

I have already paid for the skip by credit card. Do I have any recourse if I contact the skip company on Monday and say I will refuse payment if it is not collected immediately? Can this be done? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

ttilting

While the skip company may well be at fault for delaying your building work, they have (or are) in the middle of providing you with a service.

So even if they for example owed you 1000 Euro ,,, this would not be grounds for with holding payment for this particular service.

Your two avenues of recourse are

1 . Name & Shame -

2. small claims Court, for the amount of loss they have caused you to incur.

Both of these ar probably no help as you need this sorted quickly ,,,,,

Personally I would find out who the company directors are (CRO Web site+Google) look them up in the phone book .... and disturb their week end with a phone call or a visit ......

But then I am possibly too vigilant when it comes to poor customer service !

bnagrrl

Thanks for the reply.

I had a look on CRO and Googled the owner's name. He seems an unsavoury character so looks like I'm stuck with the skip until Monday!

:mad:

ttilting

Well it would have been a drastic move ! but a polite phone call to his home will ensure it is not bottom of their priority list come Monday morning !

He is effectively ''stealing'' from you by lack of good management.

I have had the need to use this tactic twice ( I pretended I thought that the number i had was for head office) & both times the directors concerned were totally unaware of the shoddy management of their front line staff.

Cabaal

While its understandable that this is annoying for you the skip company still provided the skip to be used so they still need to be paid

dh0661

Thinking out loud here so please bear with me,

Don't the trucks that deliver concrete blocks have those grab thingies ?

Why did you not get the block delivery guy to pull the skip out of his way with the grab thing - might have been a little awkward, but not impossible, I think.

bnagrrl

Cabaal wrote: »

While its understandable that this is annoying for you the skip company still provided the skip to be used so they still need to be paid

Yes I more than likely will have to pay for this [EMAIL="cr@p"]cr@p[/EMAIL] service. We will be needing several more skips over the course of the summer and I certainly won't be giving this crowd by business again. But is the company not fulfilling their end of the agreement by not picking up the skip after being asked several times? If they can't collect it for whatever reason I would rather they just said they won't be collecting it today so I can rearrange my other work around it.

I think the main question I want answered is, if you are provided a service and are dissatisfied for whatever reason, if you pay by credit card can you refuse payment?

bnagrrl

dh0661 wrote: »

Thinking out loud here so please bear with me,

Don't the trucks that deliver concrete blocks have those grab thingies ?

Why did you not get the block delivery guy to pull the skip out of his way with the grab thing - might have been a little awkward, but not impossible, I think.

The receipt from the skip company says the customer cannot move the skip for any reason from the point of delivery. I am not giving them a reason to refuse collection when/if they come here!

Anyway, say the man delivering the blocks attempts to move it and in the process he tears off the side of the skip or damages it in some way, I'd have to pay to have the skip company to repair this I would think and once the skip is gone I really want to have nothing more to do with them.

foggy_lad

report it to your local council and litter warden! by leaving the skip there longer than is neccessary the company are actually littering and causing the skip to be looted by unsavoury carachters. afaik there is something in the most recent litter regulations about skips concerning where they can be placed and also covering delivery and prompt collection when full.

dave98

foggy_lad wrote: »

report it to your local council and litter warden! by leaving the skip there longer than is neccessary the company are actually littering and causing the skip to be looted by unsavoury carachters. afaik there is something in the most recent litter regulations about skips concerning where they can be placed and also covering delivery and prompt collection when full.

I lik this idea -serves the company right I think!:D

Ste.phen

dave98 wrote: »

I lik this idea -serves the company right I think!:D

Wouldn't he be the person littering though?

Cabaal

Ste.phen wrote: »

Wouldn't he be the person littering though?

afaik your correct, person who filled the skip is liable not the company

MunsterCycling

and if the skip is placed on a pavement or road then, here at any rate, its supposed to have a permit (not sure who is meant to apply for this though), this normally only is applied in city centre areas. If its on private property then the council can do nothing as it is outside of their remit.

foggy_lad

Cabaal wrote: »

afaik your correct, person who filled the skip is liable not the company

normally yes but in the case where the company has failed to remove the skip they are littering by not removing it as the op has a reasonable expectation they will remove the skip (which has been paid for) promptly.

if the company took the skip away up the mountains and emptied it into a ditch then the op would be liable for not getting someone reputable to remove their rubbish!

bnagrrl

foggy_lad wrote: »

normally yes but in the case where the company has failed to remove the skip they are littering by not removing it as the op has a reasonable expectation they will remove the skip (which has been paid for) promptly.

if the company took the skip away up the mountains and emptied it into a ditch then the op would be liable for not getting someone reputable to remove their rubbish!

That's very interesting. I wonder what the company's reaction would be if I told them that?!
I noticed this morning some more items were missing from the top of the skip (not that I mind I want it gone anyway) but I am put off that people are coming to my house in the dead of night to go through it!
I'll be phoning the company yet again tomorrow morn and see what happens from there...