Vent at council charging for stolen wheelie bin

lipsthefish

Just having a bit of a mini rant really! Someone saw fit to steal our wheelie bin this morning after it had been emptied, it was there an hour ago and now it's gone :mad:

Rang the council who informed me it will cost £20 for a bin and £20 delivery, we simply cannot afford this. I asked if there was any help available, maybe paying weekly but the lady wouldn't budge. I also asked if I should report it to the police in order to get a crime number and then maybe the council could claim on their insurance but that was a no go too

Rant over!!

Badger_Lady

:mad: Great! And I assume they refuse to collect your rubbish unless you pay up, right? Hmm

custardy

lipsthefish wrote: »

Just having a bit of a mini rant really! Someone saw fit to steal our wheelie bin this morning after it had been emptied, it was there an hour ago and now it's gone :mad:

Rang the council who informed me it will cost £20 for a bin and £20 delivery, we simply cannot afford this. I asked if there was any help available, maybe paying weekly but the lady wouldn't budge. I also asked if I should report it to the police in order to get a crime number and then maybe the council could claim on their insurance but that was a no go too

Rant over!!

we thought the same
phoned the council and they said it most likely fell in the machine
said it happens
no charge in Edinburgh for a replacement

fluffnutter

Nick someone else's. And quickly slap your house number on it so they don't realise.

Azari

Happened to me once, in 2003 - £37 for a new bin and three weeks later the original turned up!

fluffnutter wrote: »

Nick someone else's. And quickly slap your house number on it so they don't realise.

fluffnutter! I'm surprised that you would suggest such a thing. :eek:

fluffnutter

I think I'd have said "Hi, I've just moved in and we don't have a wheelie bin". My council won't charge in this instance. If you say it's been nicked, they argue you've not looked after it properly (how do you look after a wheelie bin?? Pay it compliments and bring it in at night to keep it warm?).

If you make out you've never had one, they'll give you one for free. Just need to write or email with the number of people in your household (and hope they don't check the electoral roll and realise you've been living there for 15 years ).

lipsthefish

Badger_Lady wrote: »

:mad: Great! And I assume they refuse to collect your rubbish unless you pay up, right? Hmm

Yep, she told us we would have to take everything to the tip.

I asked if the bin wagon might have swallowed it but she said it hadn't been reported by the bin men and the ALWAYS report it - yeah right, like they did several years ago when I saw it get swallowed :mad:

fluffnutter

Wow, my council's a little more forgiving. If you put out your rubbish on the right day, it will be collected, provided household waste is in black bags and recycling is in clear bags. They'll still take it even if it's not in a bin.

TBH, the councils contract out the rubbish collection anyway. What your council tells you the 'rules' are is probably a world apart from what the rubbish collectors will actually do.

browneyedbazzi

I once reported my wheelie bin missing and the call centre person actually told me to just steal one back from somebody else!

bap98189

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

I once reported my wheelie bin missing and the call centre person actually told me to just steal one back from somebody else!

Which is probably what has happened to the OP's. It happens all the time around here.

deanos

i burn the address on mine with a soldering iron underneath