Fly tipping of waste

Grenage

Pay for the skip then take it up with your builder.  Fair or not, it's your responsibility and the fine will be far more unpleasant than skip hire costs.

Mistral001

I would seek legal advice before I do anything.  By paying for the waste to be taken away you might be admitting that you dumped it there and also admitting to committing a criminal offence.  

daivid

I think the offense has already been committed in allowing their waste to be taken away by an unlicensed carrier. By the sounds of it the landowner is being more than reasonable so for what a piece of paper is worth the OP could write out that "paying for the waste to be dealt with properly is morally right (it is!) but that this action is in no way an admission of any guilt" copy for each signed by both. The value of this I would place somewhere between nothing and the price of a sheet of paper but if it gives piece of mind fair enough.

daivid

pinkshoes said:

You need to deal with this, as it is indeed your waste, so don't ignore it, but if your contract with your builder states that he is responsible for disposing of the old bathroom suite, then he needs to be the one paying for it. I would tell him to either go collect the waste, or pay for the skip as per the request of the land owner. 

(this is assuming that it was indeed the builder and not you that agreed for this person to take the rubbish without checking his credentials...)

I agree, with the proviso that if said contract exists then the OP is responsible for having checked the builder has a waste carriers license. If said contract was formed and the builder is properly licensed (and was indeed the one who irresponsibly subcontracted the work) then the OP may be able to absolve themselves of responsibility. however I strongly suspect that one or more of the 3 conditions may not have been met. If the builder wasn't licensed for example it would have been the OP's responsibility to engage a licensed carrier or ensure that the carrier the builder engages is licensed - claiming a person who happened to driving down the street gave a verbal assurance is not going to cut it. 

Mistral001

daivid said:

I think the offense has already been committed in allowing their waste to be taken away by an unlicensed carrier. By the sounds of it the landowner is being more than reasonable so for what a piece of paper is worth the OP could write out that "paying for the waste to be dealt with properly is morally right (it is!) but that this action is in no way an admission of any guilt" copy for each signed by both. The value of this I would place somewhere between nothing and the price of a sheet of paper but if it gives piece of mind fair enough.

The OP could write the above, but it would not absolve him/her from guilt.  The OP could also write that the payment is what is called a "goodwill gesture".  That is a legal term which means that the payment is given without admission of responsibility for any damages. However even after receiving a goodwill gesture payment from the OP,  the landowner could still take further action, if they thought that the money did not cover all their damages.  They could also still report the matter to the police or local authority and they in turn could take criminal proceedings against the OP. 

BTW, surely it should be the police or the local council who should be investigating this matter.  It would seem that the landowner is acting like a private detective.

452

daivid said:

I think the offense has already been committed in allowing their waste to be taken away by an unlicensed carrier. By the sounds of it the landowner is being more than reasonable so for what a piece of paper is worth the OP could write out that "paying for the waste to be dealt with properly is morally right (it is!) but that this action is in no way an admission of any guilt" copy for each signed by both. The value of this I would place somewhere between nothing and the price of a sheet of paper but if it gives piece of mind fair enough.

How do you know the waste was taken by an unlicensed carrier? Odds on they have a licence in case they're stopped by the police.

daivid

452 said:

daivid said:

I think the offense has already been committed in allowing their waste to be taken away by an unlicensed carrier. By the sounds of it the landowner is being more than reasonable so for what a piece of paper is worth the OP could write out that "paying for the waste to be dealt with properly is morally right (it is!) but that this action is in no way an admission of any guilt" copy for each signed by both. The value of this I would place somewhere between nothing and the price of a sheet of paper but if it gives piece of mind fair enough.

How do you know the waste was taken by an unlicensed carrier? Odds on they have a licence in case they're stopped by the police.

Unless the OP can prove the carrier (or builder if they then sub-ed out the job) was licensed it hardly matters, the OP is liable unless they can show that they acted properly and diligently which on their single post appears not to be the case.

daivid

Mistral001 said:

The OP could write the above, but it would not absolve him/her from guilt.  The OP could also write that the payment is what is called a "goodwill gesture".  That is a legal term which means that the payment is given without admission of responsibility for any damages. However even after receiving a goodwill gesture payment from the OP,  the landowner could still take further action, if they thought that the money did not cover all their damages.  They could also still report the matter to the police or local authority and they in turn could take criminal proceedings against the OP. 

BTW, surely it should be the police or the local council who should be investigating this matter.  It would seem that the landowner is acting like a private detective.

I agree with your first paragraph, acting properly now will not absolve guilt for any previous actions, but it isn't, on it's own, an admission of guilt either.

As to the landowner, why shouldn't they investigate? Waste has been dumped on their land, it is very much their business! Who knows what the police/LA response to fly tipping is in the area but I am led to believe in many areas it is considered highly unsatisfactory. The OP if they have acted properly all along has the right to ignore the land owner/ request no further contact/ suggest they pursue it through the proper channels, but if the OP cannot show they acted properly then it would be a risky strategy.

T3RRY

Grenage said:

Pay for the skip then take it up with your builder.  Fair or not, it's your responsibility and the fine will be far more unpleasant than skip hire costs.

I agree, the OP should pay for the skip then chase it up with the builder. It would be the OP's responsibility to check if any one disposing their waste has a disposal licence, which is very easy to do. For an extra £100 the OP could have hired a skip for the bathroom renovations themselves, now it's going to cost more.

I reckon the guy doing the bathroom didn't have a dispose licence either, why pay for a license only to pay someone else a further £200 from the job you doing knowing there is a chance it will bite back.

OP should just pay for the skip, in my opinion two mistakes have been made first by not checking the builder, and second allowing the guy with the van to take the rubbish.The land owner could have gone straight to the Police/LA but reached out to you to sort it out. A chance to make it right I would say.