Rubbish not collected, they claim bins not seen, no way of complaining

mess0804

:mad: Pls help.
My rubbish had not been collected in 3 weeks. They should collect evry 2 weeks, but they "missed" it ... (not the first time)
I call the council (like last time), report it, they said they will come in 2 days. Nothing happened. Called today again, apparently they put in the system bins not seen, and told me there is nothing I can do (I can't complain to anyone , there is no supervisor, no formal way of complaining).
The bins are in front of the house door , I cannot take them on the side-walk for 2 days as people wont be able to pass (it's a house split into flats , we have 4 bins) . But they are very visible and you can touch them from the sidewalk , we don't keep them in a backyard or anything, there right in front of the house.
Is there anything I can do to prove the bin men are lying ?

Where do I stand ? I have been told there is no way of complaining, I can pay a special collection or wait another 2 weeks.
I pay £1300 in council tax and I expect at least my bins to be collected (not that much), or them being nice on the phone and give me solutions.

tomtontom

You need to clarify what the rules are - where I live the bin must be on the pavement and not on your own property. There are exceptions, but this normally only applies where the occupant is disabled and cannot move them easily. Ask to speak to a supervisor in the refuse collection department.

flea72

Where do the neighbours all put their bins on collection day? But no, if your council offer a kerbside collection, they dont have to walk onto your property to collect the bins, unless they have agreed to it

mess0804

There website say "put your bin out" and on the phone I have been told that it has to be visible. They are not specific of being on the sidewalk.

mrcow

You need to check that.

My council would not empty the bin unless it was directly on the roadside.

That's probably why it's not being emptied.

Johno100

mess0804 wrote: »

There website say "put your bin out" and on the phone I have been told that it has to be visible. They are not specific of being on the sidewalk.

I'd be speaking to one of my local Councillors and see if they can assist you.

And for your information a Councillor is the UK equivalent of a US Councilman/Councilwoman. ' Sidewalk' <sigh>

OlliesDad

Johno100 wrote: »

I'd be speaking to one of my local Councillors and see if they can assist you.

And for your information a Councillor is the UK equivalent of a US Councilman/Councilwoman. ' Sidewalk' <sigh>

I'm guessing the most likely outcome from complaining to the councilman will be a change in policy so that the trashcan must be placed on the sidewalk.

susancs

In our area the bins have to be placed on the pavement on the bin collection day. If they are not there they do not get emptied. They don't come onto your property to collect bins and just asume that you are away on holidays etc and have no rubbish in the bins to empty. I think it is the same in most of Londons and outer suburbs.

DCFC79

Our bin is something like it has to be out for 7 30am on day of collection.

mikb

Contact your local councillor. Local newspaper if not, that usually causes someone to get off their backside and look into it sufficiently to get bins collected, due to public embarrassment.

Of course you can't complain to any one at the council, if it's like our council, they removed the ability to complain about things. They can "put a comment on the system, but can't guarantee anyone will call you back". Useless. I don't want to comment, I don't really want to complain, I just want you to collect the bin!

Location: When ours weren't collected for a number of weeks, we had the usual excuses about location. They were put exactly where they've always been, and have been since. The rules were :-

1) The bin must not be on your own property. Binmen are not authorized to come onto your property to fetch a bin.

2) The bin must not be placed on the pavement, as it will cause an obstruction.

3) The bin must not be placed on the road, as it will cause an obstruction.

Sadly, if you combine these three rules, there is NOWHERE that a bin can be placed that satisfies these "rules". My property, pavement, road. That's everything covered. In reality, whichever position you put it in, they have a rule which says they don't collect it from there.

After offering to get a reporter to photograph the possible locations of the un-collectable bin, and getting a local councillor involved, the crew were put on "monitoring", which means a manager follows them around and makes sure they do the job they're paid to.

Sorted.

Also -- when a bin is missed, the standard response is "leave it out and we'll come back and get it", which really means, "tough, hope for next week". They never, EVER come back and get it.

Money-Saving-King

mikb wrote: »

The rules were :-

1) The bin must not be on your own property. Binmen are not authorized to come onto your property to fetch a bin.

2) The bin must not be placed on the pavement, as it will cause an obstruction.

3) The bin must not be placed on the road, as it will cause an obstruction.

Where in the West Midlands is this? I've just Googled this & nothing comes up. I actually recon you've made this up.