Odd one...fridge dumped in front of my front door and council say its tough....

wherediditallgo

macaque wrote: »

A fridge is dumped on Becks045 and if he/she fails to pay up for someone else's act of petty crime, the local council have threatened to hit Becks045 with a fine of £20,000. It may seem a trivial matter to you but it annoys the hell out me.

‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’

I would be annoyed too, but in this instance the OP needs to decide what's more important to them - forcing the council to collect it & risk access to the property being delayed while he waits for them, or move it themselves even if it costs them money to do so, but have their access sorted out within a day or so. The fridge is blocking access they're going to need for next weekend. No amount of railing at the council is going to change the fact that the council aren't likely to remove it by then, even if the OP paid. So their choice is to either remove it themselves (which will cost them in petrol & possibly burst biceps) or get someone else to (which will save their own petrol & biceps, but will cost them hard cash). By all means take the council to task over the general policy through the media & local councillor if necessary once they've got it removed, but carrying on at them at this stage in the game when the OP & new tenants will need access in a few days' time is spending time & energy that would be better spent in another way.

Anyway, chances are they'll be able to get their money back from the council in other ways or by providing a receipt at a later date anyway - these things usually even out in the end, & they've got more chance of that if they do take up the issue as a formal complaint or via their local councillor/press later on. But, given the amount of aggro it's going to cause the OP to force the council to do it by next weekend (unlikely to get that result in the short space of time available), I just don't think it's the way to go. The council aren't going to be remotely concerned about the OP's time constraints, & as the most important thing right now is getting easy access into the property, they should be focussing on that & dealing with the council later if they still wish to.

I do agree wholeheartedly that they shouldn't have been put in this position. If other councils offered the free collection service like Southwark (& like my own council used to until this summer :mad:), it probably wouldn't have been dumped on his property in the first place.

Loretta

Right or wrong I know what I would do, I would push it onto the pavement and forget it. The Council will collect it or someone will steal it. if the Council contact you I would just say your removed your one and this must be another one, yours was red or something, they would have to prove it was you

The Council I thought were supposed to be working for our good but never do. When you have to deal with these sort of people you have to play them at their own game, don't let them make you angry because they don't care at all. Next time don't bother to contact them use some self help and never ever give your name and address

macaque_2

thesaint wrote: »

Becks may have been told that they 'May' get fined up to £20,000, but Becks045 wasn't told that they would be fined £20,000.
If it annoys you so much, why don't you go and move it? There has been all the advice given that can be given.
All those wanting some crusade need to set up a campaign and march to the House of Commons with a petition. It reminds me of a thread a few months back where some geezer was complaining about some rubbish left in the garden by the vendor of a house he'd just purchased. (In fact this gives me an idea. )

You made a flippant remark about a 'bad news day' and the next thing we know you are getting yourself into a complete lather because this comment has been challenged. I detect a fragile ego.

Debt_Free_Chick

Loretta wrote: »

Right or wrong I know what I would do, I would push it onto the pavement and forget it.

And hope that someone locally doesn't spot you and report you.

Today, I've reported two accounts of flytipping (with Reg nos of vehicles involved) and an abandoned car that's been here since Tuesday.

You pays your money .......

wherediditallgo

Loretta wrote: »

Right or wrong I know what I would do, I would push it onto the pavement and forget it. The Council will collect it or someone will steal it. if the Council contact you I would just say your removed your one and this must be another one, yours was red or something, they would have to prove it was you

I know where you're coming from on that - the only thing that stopped my OH doing the same with the ladder was that another resident might have seen him & reported him for dumping it. :eek: We've always paid our council tax, & never usually asked for anything extra - we just use the normal unavoidable facilities, eg street lights. So when my OH was told he'd have to pay £25 to have the ladder collected, he didn't argue the toss though he felt it was unfair, he just got rid of it the only way he could while making his point at the same time.

I personally wouldn't take the risk of moving a fridge because it's too cumbersome to move quickly, & someone's quite likely to see you doing it & report you. But that's bearing in mind where I live - a street where some people are so busy looking out of their windows at what others are doing that they can almost hear your doorbell ring before you've got a chance to open the door & let the person in. The OP's property may be somewhere totally different. Having said that, regardless of what someone says on the phone, the council have to prove it was the same fridge that was discussed on the phone. They can't prove the OP moved the fridge to the public road short of watching them do it on CCTV from start to finish. A threat of a £20k fine isn't the same as a promise of one.

macaque_2

wherediditallgo wrote: »

I would be annoyed too, but in this instance the OP needs to decide what's more important to them - forcing the council to collect it & risk access to the property being delayed while he waits for them, or move it themselves even if it costs them money to do so, but have their access sorted out within a day or so.

Don't get me wrong. I agree that the OP is probably better off paying up and getting on with life.

What frustrates me is that this type of thing is becoming all too common and we are increasingly being ruled by fines. To my shame, I have settled several parking fines in the last couple of years that were patently wrong. When the shoe is on the other foot however, officials beligerantly refuse to play fair. If you put your bin out too early, that is a £1000 fine. If they fail to collect it, tough luck. Look at the damage done by bungling government employees over foot and mouth, and farm payments. The farmers have been left in the lurch. When a person is wrongly sent to prison, any compensation he gets is penalised for board and lodging by the home office. How disgusting is that?

wherediditallgo

macaque wrote: »

Don't get me wrong. I agree that the OP is probably better off paying up and getting on with life.

What frustrates me is that this type of thing is becoming all too common and we are increasingly being ruled by fines. To my shame, I have settled several parking fines in the last couple of years that were patently wrong. When the shoe is on the other foot however, officials beligerantly refuse to play fair. If you put your bin out too early, that is a £1000 fine. If they fail to collect it, tough luck. Look at the damage done by bungling government employees over foot and mouth, and farm payments. The farmers have been left in the lurch. When a person is wrongly sent to prison, any compensation he gets is penalised for board and lodging by the home office. How disgusting is that?

It's totally wrong, & I agree with your stance on these things. However, the OP has two things going against him. One is his need to get clear access within the next few days, & the other is the council having his address as someone who wants a fridge removed that's been dumped on his property & not being happy about being told he'll have to pay for the council to collect it.

The threat of a £20k fine is exactly that, a threat, & if I didn't have other considerations to take into account, I'd probably be up for putting it on the public street for the council to deal with. However, if the OP's luck is anything like mine, he'll be spotted & reported by at least one neighbour, & the threat of a fine could turn into a reality that could have been avoided for the sake of spending a few pounds. I'm very good at complaining about & to officialdom though, so I have every faith that I'd be getting my money back one way or another at a later date. Who knows, maybe the OP's complaint may result in a change of local policy even for one collection a year.

drc

I would just push it onto the street. How can they possibly prove that it is the same fridge that you called about? They are hardly going to take you to court on very tenuous evidence and it would cost the local council far more to dispute this than to remove it themselves. Dumped items appear on the street all the time and no doubt old fridges very often. Its hardly the crime of the century and I think you should just do it and deny any knowledge if they bother to call you about it, but I doubt that they would.

Generali

drc wrote: »

I would just push it onto the street. How can they possibly prove that it is the same fridge that you called about? They are hardly going to take you to court on very tenuous evidence and it would cost the local council far more to dispute this than to remove it themselves. Dumped items appear on the street all the time and no doubt old fridges very often. Its hardly the crime of the century and I think you should just do it and deny any knowledge if they bother to call you about it, but I doubt that they would.

So you make the OP's problem, everyone elses.

No wonder I lose over 40% of my income to the Govt.

Why does nobody seem to want to sort anything out for themselves any more?

fc123

Hasn't the Fridge been moved yet?? Was surprised to see this post still ongoing....move on...move the fridge yourself and don't waste all your emotional energy on the injustices of the situation........you will benefit in the long run!