Panda compost/brown bin

L1011

You can demand a reversal of any SEPA direct debit within a period of time that I can't remember, but is months; and block future direct debits from a source.

This doesn't fix any underlying debt however.

AhhHere

Panda collection service is great but their payments are awful. Sometimes charged twice per month.

I queried and they just said they wouldn't charge me month. Would rather transparency so I can plan my finances to be honest.

I'm also on their 22.50 plan and now have started been charged 25euro a month. They also never billed the bin cleaning from November.

Strange company!

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121651188#Comment_121651188

Same for me.

I wonder if collection will go ahead as normal today, given the huge fire at the depot over the weekend?

Their systems are a shambles, they generate seperate invoices each month for the new 1 cent per kg waste levy. Which they do not send, as they are for a few Cent.

I totalled up my Panda bills for last year and they came to almost 330 euro. Annual fee, lift charge and Kg charge. Just moved over to another provider on a fixed monthly charge. Saving over 100 euro. Even if I exceed their monthly Kg limit the extra charge per Kg is less than Panda's standard Kg charge.

AhhHere

Who did you move to? Any issues changing providers?

Qwerty27

Just moved from Panda to City Bin as it was working out cheaper and more convenient to go with City.

Involved 3 calls to Panda, very awkward to deal with and also charged me €30 to take back bins and clean them….seemingly this is in their T&Cs. I think another poster mentioned this too. Also charged me €9 fee for January, even though bin was only lifted once. Will take 5-10 days from them to collect old bins but I wouldn’t be surprised if I have to contact them about this again

Dr_Colossus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121665770#Comment_121665770

I'd challenge them on the €30 fee, granted it's in their T&Cs as "cleaning and rebranding" but why should departing customers (obviously aggrieved over price or service) have to pay for future customer's bins? I left Panda in May 2023 for City Bin when Panda brought in the per lift brown bin charges which were increasing my annual charge over 48%. I had been with Panda for 7 years and service during that time was always reliable and while prices had increased as a low waste household they were manageable.

Office were a disaster to deal with and like yourself involved numerous calls and emails to sort. They also threatened me with the €30 fee which I refuted saying I’d been renting the bins for years via their standing charge and that I would leave them empty/clean for collection.  I also contacted my bank asking that any future direct debit requests from Panda on my account get blocked as a precaution.  Bins were eventually collected and no further charges or contact from Panda ensued.

City Bin have been very reliable (if you pay a year in advance you also get a month’s discount) and the full size 240l brown bin has been a nice addition over Panda’s 120l. When I originally joined with Panda years ago I requested a 120l black bin and 240l brown bin but they advised that wasn’t possible and they only offered the opposite.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121654086#Comment_121654086

Yes.

Panda refunded me money, but have sent me invoices for the money they refunded. I never looked for a refund, they rang me up to give it and said the invoices were cancelled. I still have the old bins, ill dump in the bring centre if not collected.

0ph0rce0

Anybody get a message today about taking double payment this month because they didn't take last month? Gone through my bank and Direct Debits. They charged me twice in November, grand no payment was taken in December because of this. They took payment in January and now saying they didn't through a message

Also noticed they upped the monthly charge, Never got no notice , mail , msg... nothing.

Some fuckery going on in this kip.

Gatster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121759516#Comment_121759516

Same for me. Going to look around as I'm sick of them not being able to bill in anywhere near a proper fashion. Also I'm wondering if they're allowed to do this?

0ph0rce0

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121759525#Comment_121759525

Always all over the place. I have the money that's not a bother, I wouldn't mind if they hadn't taken payment, But I did pay, so are they trying to shaft me out of a month?

I just looked through my app. I signed up on the 24th of March 2023. Didn't get bins until mid April. I was supposed to get 1 free month at some stage. I've been issued 14 bills since. So I'm 11 months into my first contract but been issued 14 invoices. Not including the small government levy bills. Makes no sense

I'll be on the phone tomorrow to tell them to shove their bins up their hole.

Robbing bastards.

Sorry for ranting. 😂

reubenreuben

I got same. Called them on phone. Waited 30 minutes to speak to someone who had less capability of the English language than an ape.

They explained the payments were changing to being billed on same month instead of in arrears. I said , how dare they expect people to pay double this month. They will be losing me as a customer.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121759516#Comment_121759516

Looks like they've done something similar to me, though I didn't get any message about this. Where did you get the message? Text or email or?

The account balance quoted in the email is different to the account balance in the invoice linked in the email. It took me seven minutes on a call just to navigate through three layers of the IVR menu (press 1 for.....) as they didn't recognise my frequent and furious pressing.

I really don't want to switch providers and drag a different truck up our street, but this is just awful customer service.

reubenreuben

I thought aes/bord na mona were bad but this takes the biscuit.

Their billing system runs on Microsoft Access.

Are they included the Government waste levy in your invoices? With me they were generating separate invoices with the levy, but not sending them as they were only for a few cent. This caused an issue with the bins not being collected, as there was outstanding money owed.

If you ask them to email a Statement it lists all the invoices, which will help to reconcile the balance.

0ph0rce0

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121763232#Comment_121763232

Email Below

Dear Valued Customer,

 We hope this message finds you well. We're reaching out to provide you with some important updates regarding your Panda Recycling account.

Recently, you may have noticed an additional direct debit charge on your account statement. We understand this may have caused confusion and concern, and we want to assure you that we are here to clarify and address any questions you may have.

To provide clarity, we've outlined some frequently asked questions below:

Why were 2 Direct Debit payments collected on my agreed Direct Debit date?

•          The 2 payments are made up of your usual service charge for this month and a month in arrears. The month in arrears was for an invoice that generated later than usual due to an error, which meant the Direct Debit for that month never collected. The month that is collected in arrears will vary slightly by customer.

Why can't this double charge be credited off?

•          It's important to understand that the additional charge is not a double charge but rather two separate invoices. Each direct debit you see on your account corresponds to the previous month's invoice. For example, Septembers’ invoice may not have collected in September and is collected in February.

Will my collections be affected by this?

•          Rest assured; your collections will not be affected by this adjustment. We are committed to ensuring a seamless experience for all our customers.

What if I incurred a Return Direct Debit fee from Panda?

•          If we have charged you a Return Direct Debit fee, due to this inconvenience please contact us to have it credited off as a one-time gesture of goodwill. (bank applied fees cannot be credited.)

Will this issue occur in future?

•          We have revised our billing systems and ensured that this does not occur again.

We understand the importance of transparent communication, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121763726#Comment_121763726

That's something similar to what I got off them in November. They can't keep dipping their hand into my pocket every couple of months to cover their mistakes. I'm going to cancel my direct debit, tell them I've cancelled my direct debit, and I'll make monthly payments.

Sierra Oscar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121763726#Comment_121763726

I've gotten the same email. They're double charging me for February and the generic email says that they have missed a payment 'in recent months'. I've gone back over my bank account since I began my contract with them and they have not missed a single payment. I'm waiting to hear back from their Customer Care. It seems really dodgy to me.

AhhHere

Yeah my bill went from 22.50 a month to 25 a month without any notice or reason. Still not charged for the bin cleaning either. Weird company

lawred2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120478542#Comment_120478542

The neighbours have greyhound. So I don't think that's true any longer

rameire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121764455#Comment_121764455

I have tried every year to move away from Panda,

I see a Greyhound come into my estate once a week also, but Greyhound advise they do not do household in my area.

The reason I found for the Greyhound collection in my estate was a commercial collection from a private dwelling.

feelings

These are the prices available in my area at the moment:

Panda (+ one month free)

21.50 - 32kg

24.50 - 42kg

28.50 - 65kg

Greyhound (they recently had one month free but seems to be gone?)

22.50 - 42kg

26.50 - 65kg

30.50 - 85kg

The above are monthly plans. Green and brown bins are 'unlimited'. You can get a second green bin for free with both Panda & Greyhound it seems.

https://greyhound.ie/twogreen/ - this link seems to let you sign up to either an old plan or a deal, I can't tell. e18 (32kg) / e20 (42kg) / e24 (65kg)

https://greyhound.ie/2green_bins/ (same as above)

lawred2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121765438#Comment_121765438

Really? wtf

Friend of a friend

AndrewJRenko

Some progress, so I got through to someone by phone today, who was reasonably helpful. The additional charge in January was the bin washes again, though their invoices make it fairly difficult to see this. The balance owed quoted in the email will NOT be charged in the direct debit. The lower balance quoted in the invoice itself is what will hit the DD, so that's €39 not €58. 

They need to take a long hard look at their billing system

greasepalm

Far too expensive for 1 person in a house who might only put the bins out once in a while.

GIMP

I live in fingal, rang Panda to cancel they gave me bins for 1 year 16.75 so cheaper than BnM at 17.50.

feelings

Fingal here, tried BnM and get "Sorry, we don't serve your area."

L1011

Frying pan to fire with BNM possibly - they're utterly awful in Kildare

cbreeze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121764445#Comment_121764445

Last year I got the brown bin cleaned and it was months before I was charged. Now I just clean the bin with a hose and save. Price of a pint and a packet of crisps.