Paid for council to take rubbish but someone else took it

[Andy46]

Hi,

I'd paid the council to remove a bulky item and put it at the side of my house as per the councils instructions.

I have just seen a random bloke in a tatty van take it.

The council have confirmed it was not them but say they do not issue refunds. Is there any way to challenge this?

Thanks

Moderator Message:
Edited title (chas49)

[dealtn]

I'm sure there are plenty of ways, but what's your loss?

Aren't you in the position you wanted?

[AF62]

The council have confirmed it was not them but say they do not issue refunds.

If they didn't have this policy then how do they deal with the situation of a dishonest person paying, putting their rubbish out, the rubbish being collected, and then the dishonest person calling up and saying "I never got around to putting my rubbish out, can I have a refund". And the evidence they did collect is now at the bottom of a landfill site.

[Andy46]

Hi,

Both fair points but they don't really answer the question

I'm not really bothered btw, i just thought i'd see where i stood. I don't really like encouraging gypsies / scrap metal dealers and would have preferred the council took it but seems i don't have much choice. I am also miffed that i have paid for a service which I have now cancelled so has therefore been of no cost to the council, I've basically just given them £25. In future it seems the only sensible option is to leave it outside and accept that scrap metal people will take it.

Thanks

[Lootman]

Where I live people will take anything. Got an old broken lamp? Put it out on the pavement and it will be gone by the next morning. Works every time.

As a result I never need to bother the council. Sometimes people go through my rubbish bin. I guess they can get cash on some recycling items? That's fine with me as well, as long as they don't make a mess.

[Watis]

The council have confirmed it was not them but say they do not issue refunds.

If they didn't have this policy then how do they deal with the situation of a dishonest person paying, putting their rubbish out, the rubbish being collected, and then the dishonest person calling up and saying "I never got around to putting my rubbish out, can I have a refund". And the evidence they did collect is now at the bottom of a landfill site.

There is a worse possible outcome.

Should there have been anything in what was taken that tied it to your address, and the items turned up on the verge of a quiet country lane, you could be accused of dumping it yourself.

To protect yourself, perhaps call the council and ask them to record the fact that you paid them to collect it, they didn't but the stuff has gone. Might help in the worst case scenario of being prosecuted for fly-tipping?

Watis

[dealtn]

Hi,

Both fair points but they don't really answer the question

I'm not really bothered btw, i just thought i'd see where i stood. I don't really like encouraging gypsies / scrap metal dealers and would have preferred the council took it but seems i don't have much choice. I am also miffed that i have paid for a service which I have now cancelled so has therefore been of no cost to the council, I've basically just given them £25. In future it seems the only sensible option is to leave it outside and accept that scrap metal people will take it.

Thanks

Well you can write to the council department, or speak to your local councillor about it (my brother is one, and believe me he gets plenty of such "enquiries"), at each point pointing out you entered a contract with them, which they failed to fulfil, so want your money back. You can escalate this further, even going so far as making a legal claim etc.

But in practice it's £25 and you are no worse off. Arguably the council has had a theft, so given you are the closest to a witness are you prepared to act as one if they showed an interest in pursuing the case against this "random bloke in a tatty van", potentially making a police statement etc.?

Are you "public spirited" enough to act in such an un-selfish way to ensure such acts don't happen again. Or would that be too much aggravation as you are "not really that bothered"?

[swill453]

I am also miffed that i have paid for a service which I have now cancelled so has therefore been of no cost to the council, I've basically just given them £25.

"Them" is you. Your council, providing you with services.

In future it seems the only sensible option is to leave it outside and accept that scrap metal people will take it.

To be really sure, put a price tag on it

Scott.

[Andy46]

Hi,

Good news, a senior member of staff has phoned and agreed to refund me. It was worth asking for a callback from a manager. Had I accepted the 3 lower ranking people i'd spoken to previously i would not have been refunded.

Thanks

[JohnB]

I don't think you should muck the council around. Telling them its gone and saving them a trip is politeness

[Andy46]

I don't think you should muck the council around. Telling them its gone and saving them a trip is politeness

I have told them.

[richfool]

I don't think you should muck the council around. Telling them its gone and saving them a trip is politeness

I have told them.

Yes, it's as well you told them (and it's on record), just in case whoever took it, ends up dumping it somewhere they shouldn't and it later gets traced back to you.

[mc2fool]

The council have confirmed it was not them but say they do not issue refunds.

If they didn't have this policy then how do they deal with the situation of a dishonest person paying, putting their rubbish out, the rubbish being collected, and then the dishonest person calling up and saying "I never got around to putting my rubbish out, can I have a refund".

Uh? Very easily, 'cos in your example above the council knows that it collected the item and so knows that the dishonest person is lying (assuming the council trusts its employees), whereas in the OP's case the council knows that it didn't collect the item.

[AF62]

The council have confirmed it was not them but say they do not issue refunds.

If they didn't have this policy then how do they deal with the situation of a dishonest person paying, putting their rubbish out, the rubbish being collected, and then the dishonest person calling up and saying "I never got around to putting my rubbish out, can I have a refund".

Uh? Very easily, 'cos in your example above the council knows that it collected the item and so knows that the dishonest person is lying (assuming the council trusts its employees), whereas in the OP's case the council knows that it didn't collect the item.

So how does the council "know" that it collected the item?

Do you really think the refuse collection team keep a record of piece of rubbish it collects before it throws it in landfill? How many photos of each item do they take? Just one? Or perhaps three or four just to make sure. And how is the audit trail of the record collected recorded back in council HQ? Is it just logged by address or by description as well?

[mc2fool]

If they didn't have this policy then how do they deal with the situation of a dishonest person paying, putting their rubbish out, the rubbish being collected, and then the dishonest person calling up and saying "I never got around to putting my rubbish out, can I have a refund".

Uh? Very easily, 'cos in your example above the council knows that it collected the item and so knows that the dishonest person is lying (assuming the council trusts its employees), whereas in the OP's case the council knows that it didn't collect the item.

So how does the council "know" that it collected the item??

Because when you booked the collection they put your address and the item to be collected on a list that they then gave to the collections team, who then included your address on their next round with the appropriate collection vehicle, and ticked it off when they collected it.

At least that's the way my council operate -- and clearly the OP's council do similarly as they were able to confirm to him that they did not collect his item.

[Mike4]

Forget it and get on with your life.

But if you can't, I hope you photographed the scruffy van, reported the theft of your rubbish to the police and passed to them your evidence. Hopefully they will get it back for you then you can call the council and tell them, its once again ready for collection....

[richlist]

In our area all of my neighbours & myself, if we have items to dispose of they get put at the edge of our boundaries and I can almost guarantee they will be gone in a couple of days.

Especially metal items, cookers, fridges, freezers, et c which are usually collected for scrap.

Recently I put a worn out/broken Kärcher jet wash out......it wasn't there 2 hours later. Same for broken lawnmowers.

In future don't waste your money on the council......try the self help method of putting it out for a few days to see if it gets collected.

[Maroochydore]

In Sydney it's accepted practice that you put unwanted items - sofas, furniture etc etc - out front by the side of the kerb. People will come and take what they want. The rest is cleared up on the daily rubbish round.

Can get a bit annoying if it spills across the pavement and blocks access to your unit but as I said, it's not there long.

Works well, wouldn't work here with fortnightly collections.

[AF62]

Uh? Very easily, 'cos in your example above the council knows that it collected the item and so knows that the dishonest person is lying (assuming the council trusts its employees), whereas in the OP's case the council knows that it didn't collect the item.

So how does the council "know" that it collected the item??

Because when you booked the collection they put your address and the item to be collected on a list that they then gave to the collections team, who then included your address on their next round with the appropriate collection vehicle, and ticked it off when they collected it.

Or they just tick off that they attended the booked address.

At least that's the way my council operate -- and clearly the OP's council do similarly as they were able to confirm to him that they did not collect his item.

No, they got fed up with the OP phoning up and taking up their time and paid them £25 to go away.

[mc2fool]

So how does the council "know" that it collected the item??

Because when you booked the collection they put your address and the item to be collected on a list that they then gave to the collections team, who then included your address on their next round with the appropriate collection vehicle, and ticked it off when they collected it.

Or they just tick off that they attended the booked address.

Unlikely given that my council have 5 different collection and disposal regimes for different types of items with 3 different prices.

At least that's the way my council operate -- and clearly the OP's council do similarly as they were able to confirm to him that they did not collect his item.

No, they got fed up with the OP phoning up and taking up their time and paid them £25 to go away.

Nope, they confirmed they didn't collect it long before that; that was the whole point of the OP's initial post.

The council have confirmed it was not them but say they do not issue refunds. Is there any way to challenge this?