Dublin City Council - Bin Collection Privatised/Greyhound Megathread

kylith

Can anyone recall the date they got their letters from Greyhound? I emailed them asking them to take away my surplus bins and got this in reply.

Hi [kylith],



Thanks for the email.

Unfortunately, as you had a bin lifted by Greyhound back on 19th January 2012, we will be unable to cancel the account until this has been cleared. If you wish to phone me in about this, you can get me on 4658300.



Regards

Helen

I must say that I'm annoyed by a response like this after more than a month has passed since I sent in my original cancellation letter. Considering all the trouble I've had with Greyhound over the years not collecting bins, not sending me recycling bags, and then for some reason giving me a second brown bin and unregistering my old one (without registering the new one), not taking these bins away over a piddling €7 is ridiculous.

Would I be at all within my rights to dispose of the bins myself?

Fizzlesque

I can't remember the exact date, but I think it was around 16th January the letters arrived. I also had a bin collection (green & black bins) after the letters arrived but as soon as they were empty I emailed Greyhound and told them I wldn't be availing of their service. As far as I was concerned, my decision to take care of my own waste management ( which I've been doing ever since and it's a breeze) didn't include trawling through a few months of rubbish that I'd accumulated while unaware DCC were planning to dump us (no pun intended).

Getting the bins removed from my property took ages - lots of emails, dealing with a new person every few days, but they did finally take them away and no mention of the earlier lifts.

How much are they looking for you to pay before they close the account? Are you using another company - i ask that wondering if you will get new bins.

I'd be inclined to say get rid of the bins yourself if you can. How much effort will they put in to getting the price of one lift from you? Another thing that might be worth mentioning, some of the staff don't really know what they're doing - I ended up dealing with a few fools before finally getting to talk (through email) with someone who could sort the issue. Perhaps another email, starting from scratch, will yield a more satisfactory result. Good luck. Glad I don't have to deal with Greyhound anymore.

Fizzlesque

kylith wrote: »

I must say that I'm annoyed by a response like this after more than a month has passed since I sent in my original cancellation letter. Considering all the trouble I've had with Greyhound over the years not collecting bins, not sending me recycling bags, and then for some reason giving me a second brown bin and unregistering my old one (without registering the new one), not taking these bins away over a piddling €7 is ridiculous.

I obviously read your post too fast the first time as I didn't quite realise you were a Greyhound customer all along - I thought you'd been switched from DCC to Greyhound, but, on second read of your post, that doesn't seem to be the case.

If you've had an account with them all along and want to close it now, why don't you just pay the €7 you owe them? You're right when you say it's a piddling amount, so why don't you pay it and be done?

kylith

Fizzlesque wrote: »

I obviously read your post too fast the first time as I didn't quite realise you were a Greyhound customer all along - I thought you'd been switched from DCC to Greyhound, but, on second read of your post, that doesn't seem to be the case.

If you've had an account with them all along and want to close it now, why don't you just pay the €7 you owe them? You're right when you say it's a piddling amount, so why don't you pay it and be done?

Well, we've all been switched from DCC to Greyhound whether we wanted to or not.

I will pay it and be done if I received the letter about the switch from DCC to Greyhound before the bin was lifted. It was most likely lifted after I got the letter, but before I realised that there were cheaper options out there. I do not want to set up an account and give Greyhound my credit card details for €7, simply because I find them so unreliable that I'm kind of afraid to. I am amazed, though perhaps I shouldn't be, that I've had to go chasing them for them to tell me that I owed them money; they could easily have contacted me regarding any outstanding payments when I sent them the letter informing them that I had switched to Thorntons over a month ago.

Fizzlesque

Hello again Kylith.

Your posts are confusing me a little.

In your initial post you said: "Considering all the trouble I've had with Greyhound over the years..." which made me think you've been a Greyhound customer for years - in which case, my view is you should pay the €7 euro and be done.

However, your last post said: "Well, we've all been switched from DCC to Greyhound whether we wanted to or not" which makes me think you weren't a Greyhound customer at all, apart from when DCC switched us whether we wanted to or not - in which case, my view is you shouldn't pay the €7.

Even if the lift was done after the letters arrived, I still don't think you should have to pay it, if you didn't intend to continue as a customer. There was a month's grace period (middle January to middle February) during which time Greyhound were collecting bins while (they hoped) people would contact them to make the yearly payment (and pre-paid lift charges). After a certain point (I think it was 16th Feb) they said if you haven't paid, we won't lift. Was your lift after 16th Feb?

I think you're wise not to give Greyhound your credit card details - and I definitely wouldn't set up an account with them just to be able to pay the €7 so you can close the account. As you say, they're too unreliable - you could be making a rod for your own back.

Unfortunately, it looks like you'll have to find a way to get rid of the bins yourself, or pay the €7 and then begin the slow and tortuous procedure trying to get them to remove the bins and close down your account. Some waste management companies don't provide bins, so perhaps you could sell them (or give them) to someone using such a company. Make sure to remove all identifying numbers first though.

John Mason

Fizz, DCC had contract out the Recycle Bins to Greyhound years ago but we are still customers of DCC.

DCC then decided they were moving all our accounts to Greyhound and never gave anyone the option to opt out.

Greyhound were rubbish at collect the Recycle Bins over the last few years.

therefore DCC customers were also Greyhound Customer but we never had to pay any money to Greyhound before.

OP, i would tell Greyhound to go sing for their money, that at time, as far as you were concerned you were signed up with DCC and will pay them then money

Fizzlesque

irishbird wrote: »

Fizz, DCC had contract out the Recycle Bins to Greyhound years ago but we are still customers of DCC.

DCC then decided they were moving all our accounts to Greyhound and never gave anyone the option to opt out.

Thanks, Irishbird, for clearing that confusion up for me. In that case, I don't think Kylith should pay the €7 because he never agreed to be a Greyhound customer and would have to set up an account with them (and give them credit card details) just so he could pay it and then close the account, which, knowing how inept Greyhound are, would be asking for trouble.

Besides, Kylith sent them notification that he wouldn't be signing up with them so if they collected a bin it was likely to have been during the hand-over grace period, which was free for those of us who had yet to have our bins tagged by Greyhound - unlike those of you who were already tagged.

Considering how many people opted to use alternative companies (or take care of their waste management themselves) Greyhound probably have loads of battered old bins they can't use so they're probably not all that interested in ending up with more.

Which leaves Kylith with his original problem of what to do with his old bins. I'm sure some creative recycling mind could find a good use for them - unfortunately, I'm not creative enough to make suggestions myself.

kylith

I'm thinking of getting my jigsaw out and turning them into mobile plant pots

The only hitch being that, what with us never being told that the bins were going to be changed, the brown bin is full of rubbish.

I don't quite know what to do. Maybe, since these bins apparently belong to me, I'll just take them to the dump.

podgeandrodge

email

waste.management@dublincity.ie

and they will arrange for your bins to be taken away.

That's what they offered me after I emailed them (and copied to a few city councillors)

(I moved to Thorntons who kindly gave me a "letter and envelope" to send to Greyhound - who completely ignored the letter when I sent it to them.)

kylith

podgeandrodge wrote: »

email

waste.management@dublincity.ie

and they will arrange for your bins to be taken away.

That's what they offered me after I emailed them (and copied to a few city councillors)

(I moved to Thorntons who kindly gave me a "letter and envelope" to send to Greyhound - who completely ignored the letter when I sent it to them.)

Thanks. Will do. Was there any hassle getting them to remove the bins; charges, complaints about them not being empty, or the like?

dazberry

Our bin wasn't collected this morning by greyhound and a tag was left on it saying the bin could not be lifted. I've not been able to get to speak to anyone in Greyhound, so since the account is paid up to date, and the bin wasn't heavy I'm guessing it's because the lid wasn't closed and the bin then deemed over filled.



Are greyhound an&l about this sort of thing? I'm new to wheelie bins - previously was a bag/sticker customer ...

Also anyone know what happens now, because given the bin is full (although could have been packed a bit better I guess so really 3/4 maybe), we'll be completely screwed in two weeks time...

Thanks,

D.

phasers

I've always found Greyhound very strict about this for some reason, your bin lid has to be completely closed or it won't be lifted.

Unfortunately I think all you can do is wait two weeks until your next scheduled lift.

Get someone into the bin and give it a good stomping and you'll fit a few more bags in if needs be

phig

Hey tomasrojo. Have they collected the brown bins on your road yet? I am waiting 4 weeks now with many phone calls and promises from greyhound with no joy... I'm in D12

tomasrojo wrote: »

Councillor Rebecca Moynihan has investigated the non-collection of brown bins on my road (Dublin 8, Kilmainham), and Greyhound have told her that they'll be collecting brown bins on Fridays. Not what their calendar said (or should I say calendars, since they sent me two different ones).

Faith+1

phasers wrote: »

Get someone into the bin and give it a good stomping and you'll fit a few more bags in if needs be

But be sure the bags don't get jammed too tight in the bin!

tomasrojo

phig wrote: »

Hey tomasrojo. Have they collected the brown bins on your road yet? I am waiting 4 weeks now with many phone calls and promises from greyhound with no joy... I'm in D12

They had to be coerced into emptying my brown bin.

tomasrojo wrote: »

Bizarrely, they do collect them after dark. They finally picked up my brown bin at 1745 this evening.

They weren't going to pick it up; they stopped the truck, looked at my bin and started driving away, but luckily my wife was passing on her way home from work, stopped them and remonstrated with them until they emptied the bin.

I've no idea what they're up to.

I've been told that they haven't emptied any other brown bins on my road since then.

dazberry

phasers wrote: »

I've always found Greyhound very strict about this for some reason, your bin lid has to be completely closed or it won't be lifted.

Unfortunately I think all you can do is wait two weeks until your next scheduled lift.

I finally got thru' to greyhound yesterday, and they classified it as a missed lift possibly due to a scanning error and would (re)collect it in 7 to 10 days. I explained the lid was up a few inches and they said that was not the issue????

D.

Paddytheman

kylith wrote: »

Thanks. Will do. Was there any hassle getting them to remove the bins; charges, complaints about them not being empty, or the like?

Tried this as per mail and response below.

Dear Mr. M,

You will need to contact Greyhound Recycling to arrange to have your bins removed, telephone 1890 98 99 98.

Regards,

Jennifer Graham,
Waste Management Services

From: M
Sent: 12 March 2012 13:38
To: Waste Management
Subject: Removal of Bins
Good afternoon,

I wonder if you could please direct me to someone with regards having my old bins removed from my house.

I live in Drimnagh and decided not to change over to Greyhound as I felt the process was quite heavy handed. I have sent a letter to terminate my account 6 weeks ago and requested that the bins be removed but have as of yet received no response. I had also called Greyhound as the brown bin at the premises was not collected on the last run before my termination so is still half full.

I would appreciate any assistance with this matter.

Kind regards,



I called Greyhound today and gave up after 12 minutes on hold where I was asked to leave a voicemail that would be responded to, mmm yeah!!!

Has anyone got a straight answer over who actually owns the bins, are greyhound liable to collect them and what to do with Brown bins that are half full.

I attempted to empty this into my new bin but couldnt lift it and spent 5 minutes dry retching trying to scoop the contents out!!

temply

I am not having fun with this shower at all. Signed up, credit in the a/c, no hassle. Asked for Green bin back in Jan - no bother, we will send one out to you. Grand says I. 4 weeks later, no green bin. I ring up, yes they says, no bother at all, sure we'll send one out the next day. Thanks says I. Next day, isn't there a grand black bin left out for me. Ring them, ahh sorry about that sure, we'll send out the green bin & take back the black bin. Great says i. Home there on Monday, and isn't the lid gone off the old bin? no sign of the green bin either.

they had better not try and charge me for that black bin!

still no green bin

they are muppets, seriously

SilverLiningOK

What's going on out there ? I noticed today bins in the D3 area with Oxigen barcode stickers on them. Last week a friend in the D7 area said they had signed up with Oxigen instead of Greyhound after getting a leaflet in the door from them.

What's the story ? Did we actually have a choice ? Too late for me now, having paid Greyhound upfront.

On top of that, the bag collection services is starting to look like fly tipping. Pile of bags at street corners with many of them splitting or burst. How can all this be better ? Privatisation doesn't seem to be better if the whole place is a mess.

hero25

do Oxigen have Bin collection on CLonliffe road? tnks

temply

No black bin collection in my area in D6 yesterday - rang them there, "ahh yeah, from the map it looks like yer road was missed. Leave it out and maybe they will get it today"

they are beyond useless.

Wurly

Anyone else having a problem with these f*cktards?? I live in Rathmines and my green bin was due to be collected last monday. No joy. I thought it may have been something to do with the bank holiday and waited to see if it would be collected on the Tuesday - nope. So I called on Wednesday and they incorrectly told me that my account was in deficit. It isn't and they said that was a mistake. So I was told that it would be collected within 72 hours (working days). So that would mean that the latest it would have been collected was yesterday. No collection! We have 2 black bags full of recycling to put into them and still no sign. Called again this morning and was told that it would be definitely collected today. What a surprise - the full bin is still sitting outside! It appears no green bins were collected last week or have been since. It's a disgrace and i'm so livid. Anyone else in the area having these problems?

nudger

Was going to go with Greyhound just for convenience, but after trying but failing to contact them, I decided to go with Oxygen.
The house is in the D7 area, no problems, they dropped 2 new bins and they said that they would empty all our bins, which they did all 5 a week later.
I have room for the old 3 in the back so no probs.

vikingdub

temply wrote: »

No black bin collection in my area in D6 yesterday - rang them there, "ahh yeah, from the map it looks like yer road was missed. Leave it out and maybe they will get it today"

they are beyond useless.

Where are you located? Terenure was collected but I understand that Harolds X was missed.

cruais

5 weeks ago I left my recycling out for collection. They didn't collect it because there wasn't a sticker on it which apparently meant I hadn't paid.

I showed the bin many greyhound card and said obviously I had paid but got no stickers. He still wouldn't take my bin!:mad:

I immediately rang greyhound and she said oh I'll try get someone back around to you and I'll send you out the stickers for your bins ASAP. I informed her that they were at the end of my road still collecting and could she radio through to get them to reverse or to wait till I wheeled the bin down to them... My answer was no.

So two weeks later still no sign of the stickers, so I had to physically stand by my bin and this time the bin man was much nicer, he took it for me, but still no stickers.

It's 5 weeks now, I've called numerous times and emailed too, getting no response. I'm tearing my hair out as my bins (that i paid for and acc is in credit) are not been collected as a result!

They couldn't organise a pi$s up in a brewery!:mad:

Shorty11857

Our brown bin has been out for over a month now and they've missed collections, we've been on the phone to them every other day and they're just constantly lying to us.

Two weeks ago they said they'd collect it Monday, I called Tuesday "We're sorry we missed your collection, we'll collect it today and call you back tomorrow to ensure it was collected", which didn't happen so we called them Wednesday and they again aplogized and said it would be collected,on Friday we called again and the women said she'd get her supervisor and call back, didn't happen...

Is there anything we can do about this? Anyone we can file a compliant with?

matthewS.

I'm in Rathmines as well, our whole cul-de-sac has been ignored for weeks. Place is getting very messy. Magpies are showing a lot of interest so looking forward to the rats to follow.

Pawwed Rig

Is there an authority that you can complain to about this company? One like Comreg?

zacseph

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Is there an authority that you can complain to about this company? One like Comreg?

This ^^

I put my brown bin out a month ago when it was due and it was left there, so after 5 days I took it back in - put it out again 2 weeks ago and it wasn't picked up then either - I emailed them twice last week - the first was ignored - and they told me our area was to be made a priority area and that they would be picked up by Monday at the very latest. That was yesterday - it's now been sitting there just over 14 days now.
I also started looking back, and I don't think greyhound ever took a brown bin on our street - i think it was only Dublin city council picking up the slack during the changeover, cos I haven't ever been charged by greyhound for a pick-up. I'm wondering if this is the real issue and if they even have brown bins available - either that or they just can't figure out where we live...

So yeah - I've told them I would escalate the issue to a higher authority, but I don't really know who to contact - my best bet is Dublin city council, because I think there's a waste management act that says they provide the pick-up or the facility for it to happen... but that could have changed too, i just don't know...

siggyc

I've been trying to get my old bins collected by Dublin City Council and Greyhound for over 2 months now. DCC are washing their hands of it. Greyhound promise to collect them but never turn up. Has anyone managed to get their bins collected by these cowboys?

Maybe we should all just dump their bins outside Greyhound, or even better the DCC offices!