Dublin City Council - Bin Collection Privatised/Greyhound Megathread

So we've been using Thorntons for the past year and based on a couple living in a house with a back garden(compost bin) our charges were as below:

General Waste: Feb/July/Nov (averaging 38kg per lift) @€;9.00 = €27.00
Compost Bin: Jan/May/July (averaging 70kg per lift) @€;4.50 = €13.50
Green Bin: Every 2 weeks(averaging 10kg per lift) @ Free
Annual Charge: Every January = €50.00
Total = €100.00
Minus 3% discount for online payment TOTAL= €97.00

Basically we're pretty good with recycling and it obviously makes a difference to have a specific bin for this in your kitchen. Seeing that the green bin is emptied every two weeks if we were only using the black bin our charge would have increased by €216 for the year to over €300. Simples....

I've had no cause to complain about city bins yet...with them nearly a year

My name is Mud wrote: »

Having problems with Greyhound myself. The most incompetent company I have come across.

So if I try to get out, im gonna be hit with a €40 charge? Or is there a way to get out of that?

Greyhound is a crappy company. I've just been searching their website for information on their actual charges. I can find nothing. I had to go into the long-winded small print in the Terms & Conditions where I can only see 'charges will be levied' but not the actual amount. The only amount I can see is€40 to collect the bin.

I'm actually on the phone to Greyhound at the moment. Im asking whether there's a flat rate to collect my brown bin. Yes, he tells, but he cannot tell me what it is because I haven't given him my account number. What he CAN tell me is that there are different price plans depending on my usage BUT he can't tell me what they are. It's secret it seems. He can only tell me with my account number in front of him, then he can tell me if there's a better price plan. I don't want to give him my account number, because then he can just say I'm on the best plan!


Surely this kind of secret price plan is illegal? Who can I complain to?

Rang them back & got a more helpful/knowledgable/sympathetic call centre worker (god bless the poor souls).

GREYHOUND

Pay per lift plan - annual charge €59.95 PLUS
Green bin (recycling): free of charge
Brown bin (compost) (120l): €3.60 up to 20kg, plus 24c per kilo after that (per lift)
Black bin (general waste)
(120l): €4.50 up to 25 kg, plus 33c per kilo after that (per lift)
(240l): €7.00 up to 25 kg, plus 33c per kilo after that (per lift)

Monthly payment plan
There are various unlimited-weight plans - one at €15.50 per month, another at €23.50 per month, and you'll be offered one depending on how much you put out. But they won't tell you what all the different plans are so you can decide for yourself.


for me, my brown (compost) bin goes out every 2 months on average, at the flat rate; green(recycling) every two months free; and the black (general waste) goes out monthly at most, also at the flat rate usually, so my 2013 charge was €140 including the annual fee.



Regardless, there is a certain amount of lack of transparancy going on here and I will be putting in a complaint to the Nat Consumer Agency about this.

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

GREYHOUND

Pay per lift plan - annual charge €59.95 PLUS
Green bin (recycling): free of charge
Brown bin (compost) (120l): €3.60 up to 20kg, plus 24c per kilo after that (per lift)
Black bin (general waste)
(120l): €4.50 up to 25 kg, plus 33c per kilo after that (per lift)
(240l): €7.00 up to 25 kg, plus 33c per kilo after that (per lift)

Monthly payment plan
There are various unlimited-weight plans - one at €15.50 per month, another at €23.50 per month, and you'll be offered one depending on how much you put out. But they won't tell you what all the different plans are so you can decide for yourself.

THORNTONS
Website sets out charges so you can easily see what you'd be paying and what plan you'd prefer to opt for.

Pay per lift - Annual fee of €50 PLUS
Green bin (recycling): free of charge
Brown bin (compost) (120l): €4.50 flat fee
Black bin (general waste)
(120l): €5.25
(240l): €9.00


Option 2 - By Weight Annual Fixed Charge

Under this system the customer pays an annual service charge up front based on the expected weights of their combined black and brown bins. There is no charge for the green bin. The lower the weights in your black and brown bins the less you will pay. Customers can view their weight information on-line at any time on our website.

Weight charges are as follows:

Band Weight per Year Charges Inc VAT
A Less than 400kgs €230
B 401kgs - 700kgs €285
C 701kgs - 1,000kgs €320
D 1,000kgs to 1,250kgs €360

Are these not the relevant clauses available from the T&Cs link at the top of their home page?

http://greyhound.ie/tandc/

1.2.1 “Bin Recovery Charge” means a charge payable by the Customer on termination of the contract pursuant to Clause 16.1. The charge will reflect the actual expenditure in respect of recovery of all bins in the possession of the Customer but will not exceed €40.80, which reflects the average recovery cost being €30, and the actual Bin sanitation cost of €10.80.

...

16.1 Termination of this contract, within the 12 month period, by the Customer, for any reason - other than total or partial non-performance of or inadequate performance of any if its contractual obligations by GRR, (not caused by factors outside the control of GRR) - within the 12 month period, will result in a Bin Recovery Charge being charged to the Customer. The charge will reflect the actual expenditure in respect of recovery of all bins in the possession of the Customer. This charge will not exceed €40.80, which reflects the average recovery cost being €30, and a Bin sanitation cost of €10.80.

friday girl wrote: »

Thanks TM , that's probably what they will get me on! . I was unaware of the contract or the contract period ending as I have not had any notice . Consumer help say that I should have received notice of contract period ending and been offered a new one . I don't recall any such notification by e mail or otherwise . I have asked them to provide evidence . Don't think they will though after all they are the big company ...im just the little guy.

Yes they tried to charge me for bin collection too. Keep on refusing to pay.

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057108562/6/#post88976055

Greyhound eventually took away my bins the other day (after about a year) and no money changed hands :-) Stick with it and they eventually will collect for free. The T&C's that are being quoted here from their website do not apply if your current contract with them (if you have one at all) was made before they introduced the T&C's that say they will charge for returning bins

friday girl wrote: »

my problem is that they have 50 euro of mine - credit. this is the 3rd time they have taken 50 from my card this year!! so they can just deduct the 40 and refund the rest rather that refund the 50 as I have asked .

Might be worth mentioning to them that you are going to call the National Consumer Centre to query the legality of these charges.

Are waste companies licensed by DCC? Can you make a complaint to them about a waste companies operating practices?

Since they have changed so that companies collect in the same area on the same day Greyhound have been collecting at ridiculous times on my road. In the last month it's being getting later each week - 11.20 pm, 11.45pm and last night it was 12.20am. I don't mind be woken occasionally but it looks like a pattern now.

Why can't they collect during the day like other companies?? :mad:

friday girl wrote: »

Greyhound are a law onto themselves ....don't have to follow the rules because they are "special".
I have happily moved to citi bin. They collect at same time every Monday - around 8am. the bins are left back tidly and the cost is one quarter of what I used to pay.
Happy days

I left Greyhound a year ago but some of my neighbours are still with them. As you say CityBin are so much better I'm a lot happier with them. Unfortunately due to a free marketplace I still have to put up with nonsense from Greyhound.

Meauldsegosha wrote: »

Are waste companies licensed by DCC? Can you make a complaint to them about a waste companies operating practices?

Since they have changed so that companies collect in the same area on the same day Greyhound have been collecting at ridiculous times on my road. In the last month it's being getting later each week - 11.20 pm, 11.45pm and last night it was 12.20am. I don't mind be woken occasionally but it looks like a pattern now.

Why can't they collect during the day like other companies?? :mad:

For what it's worth ... DCC waste bye laws

http://www.dublincity.ie/WATERWASTEENVIRONMENT/WASTE/Pages/WasteBye-Laws.aspx

6.b: Within the Central Commercial District a holder shall not present
waste for collection before 5:00pm on the designated collection day,
unless otherwise approved in writing by an appointed person

7.d: An authorised waste collector shall only collect household waste
or commercial waste within the Central Commercial District on the
designated collection day between the hours of 7.00pm to 12.00
midnight, unless otherwise approved in writing by an appointed person.

This conflicts with the summary on the web page because somebody thought that 12:00pm was midnight!

Within the Central Commercial District (CCD) waste collection is only to take place between 7pm & 12pm on collection day. Waste is not to be presented for collection before 5pm

I presume that if you have an issue with the practices of a waste operator then you contact DCC in the first instance?

However in your case it looks like they were at worst 20 mins late/beyond the "watershed" so it might be a bit rash to complain unless they do this on a regular basis? Just my opinion...

TM wrote: »

For what it's worth ... DCC waste bye laws

http://www.dublincity.ie/WATERWASTEENVIRONMENT/WASTE/Pages/WasteBye-Laws.aspx



This conflicts with the summary on the web page because somebody thought that 12:00pm was midnight!



I presume that if you have an issue with the practices of a waste operator then you contact DCC in the first instance?

However in your case it looks like they were at worst 20 mins late/beyond the "watershed" so it might be a bit rash to complain unless they do this on a regular basis? Just my opinion...

Thanks for that. I just checked the bye-laws and the central commercial area is confined to the city centre. Outside that area (section 7(c)) the collection times are 6am-9pm Mon to Fri and 8am-8pm Sat/Sun. I'll ring DCC to make a complaint.

DCC are as bad as Greyhound. I rang the waste management unit but they don't deal with complaints and gave me a number for the waste regulations unit. So I rang them but only got a voice recording giving me an email address to apply for a permit. I eventually got someone on the main customer services number they said they had a lot of complaints about Greyhound but didn't know who was dealing with it (reshuffle of departmental responsibilities apparently :rolleyes:). She said she would add my complaint to the list. Hopefully I see some local election candidates so I can bend their ear about it.

way back all most 3yrs ago I sent greyhound an email stating that " Im contacting you with regard to YOUR waste bins which I want removed from MY property" & so on, they collected them within a week & no charge.

^ The artistic renaissance of the future will be starting back in NCAD in a few weeks. Greyhound bins as found objects sounds like the start of a sculpture project.
Cue the beginning of the "layabout art students nicking my bin" thread.

Arbie wrote: »

I want to move from Greyhound but I've looked at the DCC website and none of the other companies seem to serve our area. Some of them serve other streets nearby but all the neighbours on our street have Greyhound bins. We are in Dublin 4. Is it possible that there are no competitors in the area??

Seems unlikely, phone the usual suspects (Thorntons, Oxygen, Citibin, maybe more) and ask them.

City Bin don't cover our road, even though they collect from houses 10 metres around the corner. I've called every company listed by DCC and the only other option is Thorntons but they are 1.5x the price of Greyhound.

cruhoortwunk wrote: »

I live on a narrow street that only has bin bags at the moment. We had some sales chap from greyhound around the other day that said the bags are no longer allowed by Dublin CC, so wheelie bins are compulsory.
Anyone know if there is any truth in this (wouldn't be surprised if Greyhound were lying)

New one on me, dont want the bins

Nothing to do with the council, as such, but I have heard of areas where they're being blamed for litter, eg being ripped open etc

https://greyhound.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/B2B.png

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Nothing to do with the council, as such, but I have heard of areas where they're being blamed for litter, eg being ripped open etc

https://greyhound.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/B2B.png

The only such litter issue I've seen is from dumped bags that around for a week been ripped open
Though the price doesnt seem too bad except I only use 1 bag every 3 weeks or so