Landscaper fly-tipped my garden waste in the back lane.

CJRyder

Afternoon all,

I am wondering where to go next with this. I employed a landscaper to redo my garden and his quote explicitly included waste removal (text message). He removed my waste to the back service lane after completing my job (and was paid), said that he would be back within the week and never returned. It has been five weeks at this point. On Monday he blamed catching Covid and then forgetfulness and said that it would be his "mission this week" to come and finish the job, again by text. Apart from that I have had no response to a follow-up text and phone call. I have been in touch with the council who confirmed (as I feared/expected) that it is fly-tipping and to move the waste back onto my property which I will be doing if he hasn't removed it today.

Unfortunately the only contact I have had is through mobile phone and My Builder. There's no address listed on the flyer he left and I don't know where to go next. My current plans:

Register complaint with Trading Standards - Which council? Council of the work done or council of the general location of the business? Or both?
Register fly-tipping complaint with my Council.
Change my exemplary review on My Builder to one detailing this matter.
Get renewed quotes for waste removal.

I want to also sue him for the cost of waste removal but I can't find a way to get his address. Am I SOL on this front or is there a register of sole traders somewhere?

The company is not registered on Companies House and neither him or the company are registered on the Insolvency Register.

Where should I go from here?

Thank you everybody!

Aylesbury_Duck

CJRyder said:

Afternoon all,

I am wondering where to go next with this. I employed a landscaper to redo my garden and his quote explicitly included waste removal (text message). He removed my waste to the back service lane after completing my job (and was paid), said that he would be back within the week and never returned. It has been five weeks at this point. On Monday he blamed catching Covid and then forgetfulness and said that it would be his "mission this week" to come and finish the job, again by text. Apart from that I have had no response to a follow-up text and phone call. I have been in touch with the council who confirmed (as I feared/expected) that it is fly-tipping and to move the waste back onto my property which I will be doing if he hasn't removed it today.

Unfortunately the only contact I have had is through mobile phone and My Builder. There's no address listed on the flyer he left and I don't know where to go next. My current plans:

Register complaint with Trading Standards - Which council? Council of the work done or council of the general location of the business? Or both?
Register fly-tipping complaint with my Council.
Change my exemplary review on My Builder to one detailing this matter.
Get renewed quotes for waste removal.

I want to also sue him for the cost of waste removal but I can't find a way to get his address. Am I SOL on this front or is there a register of sole traders somewhere?

The company is not registered on Companies House and neither him or the company are registered on the Insolvency Register.

Where should I go from here?

Thank you everybody!

Without an address you're not going to be able to sue him.

How much would it cost to get the waste removed?  If it's a relatively small sum, then it's probably best just to swallow it rather than wasting more time and money chasing money you'll probably never see.

I wouldn't be registering the fly-tipping with the council.  Ultimately, it's your responsibility because your agent has fly-tipped.  Registering it might backfire and lead to a fine for you.

CJRyder

I would be registering the fly-tipping incident once it has been moved back onto my property if that helps as well as asking them to quote for its disposal. I have also since called Citizens Advice to get a run-down but, as you say, they confirmed that it would be very hard to pursue this further. I don't mind spending my time bloody-mindedly pursuing this cowboy but I won't be throwing away good money after bad. I am wondering if a debt collector might get better results but I know that's less likely to occur than a unicorn leaving a solid gold turd on top of the garden waste. The debt would be proven by their quote and my acceptance of their quote which explicitly included waste disposal. However, I know that's a very shaky, if not impossible, route to go down. 

I would be expecting the waste removal to come at around £200-300. The garden is small and I paid £900 for the work, so that's quite the considerable figure personally.

Aylesbury_Duck

I can see why you're reluctant to swallow the loss.

Can the waste be put in your regular waste bin gradually?  Is it acceptable waste for that bin?  If it's green waste, some councils offer a green waste bin service which might be cost-effective.  I share a green bin with a neighbour and we pay very little for it on an annual basis.

Brie

You might be able to post pictures of the mess left on NextDoor or another local social site.  Our local occasionally has a "whatever you do don't hire Ducky!" kind of post.  I suspect they don't stay up long but it would be a warning to others in the area.

lincroft1710

A debt collector would be a complete waste of money. For a start you have no address for the contractor. 

CJRyder

Aylesbury_Duck said:

I can see why you're reluctant to swallow the loss.

Can the waste be put in your regular waste bin gradually?  Is it acceptable waste for that bin?  If it's green waste, some councils offer a green waste bin service which might be cost-effective.  I share a green bin with a neighbour and we pay very little for it on an annual basis.

Technically it needs to go to the recycling centre but I don't drive. Otherwise I would have asked for costs with and without waste disposal. I will be moving it back onto my property shortly and be counting the bags to see how long that approach would take.

lincroft1710 said:

A debt collector would be a complete waste of money. For a start you have no address for the contractor. 

That line of enquiry is purely a flight into the realms of pure imagination. I am just thinking of the reputed tenacity of those who work in the sector.

user1977

lincroft1710 said:

A debt collector would be a complete waste of money. For a start you have no address for the contractor. 

They may however have ways and means of tracking them down. Or the OP could independently recruit a tracing agent to get an address.

TELLIT01

Are you on social media of any kind?  Put the information you have on there along with a description of the guy and see what comes of it.  Do any of your neighbours have CCTV which might cover any part of his route and from which you may be able to get a vehicle registration?

CJRyder

Quotes have started coming through. So far £180 from two. Others to reply.

Unfortunately not that I know of. Even if they did I'm not sure how much that would help. When I saw his van it was the classic bright white, new looking vehicle with no distinctive features.

Ath_Wat

user1977 said:

lincroft1710 said:

A debt collector would be a complete waste of money. For a start you have no address for the contractor. 

They may however have ways and means of tracking them down. Or the OP could independently recruit a tracing agent to get an address.

There are certain people who are untraceable.

The reason such people are untraceable is so they can do stuff like this.

Therefore the chances of this person being one such person are quite high.  Reasonable, traceable people tend not to do stuff like this as they will have to face consequences.