Greyhound bin collection - new charges

[polo1]

This post has been very informative.
We live in a fairly rural location in south Dublin. We never got informed from SDCC regarding the changeover.
We had 60 euro on our SDCC card which has now transferred to greyhound which I am not happy about.
Do I have any recourse with SDCC? Will greyhound refund me?
Only found out last wk when my green bin wasn't collected.
Thanks for your advice

 

[nuls]

I actually paid greyhound the 60 euro and left me bin out every two weeks at 6.50 per lift paid in advance. My bin is not being collected now because I was informed that I owe them 27euro. When I enquired why, (I have never left a bin out without paying first 10.50 and then 6.50) I was told that I owed money.

I was informed that the bin would only be collected on payment of arrears plus the standard 6.50. My problem is that when greyhound took over, they said it would be cheaper. I am now informed that if I pay 12.50 or 13.50 per lift I will not get myself into arrears as the standard lift is 20kilo and my lifts were heavier. Does anyone have any suggestions, as my bins are weighing heavy with nappies.

 

[PolkaDot]

nuls, I would move your account to Thorntons or Access Waste as they do not have a "pay by weight" system. It is a fixed price per bin lift.

If your bins were very heavy then they probably cost more than the "standard" prices. The prices with Greyhound are now totally dependent on the weight.

I would contact Greyhound and ask them how much your bin lifts have been since the change of price structure in October. You'll probably be in for a shock. I have heard stories of brown bins costing €11 to be emptied due to the weight.

 

[PolkaDot]

They obviously changed their minds about increasing the lift charge which they had originally said they would do in early '12.

What do you mean by this? Had Access said they would not bring in an annual charge? Instead they were just going to increase the bin lift prices?

All I can remember is that they said they would freeze their prices until Feb 2012, but I don't think they said any more than that?

 

[Sue Ellen]

What do you mean by this? Had Access said they would not bring in an annual charge? Instead they were just going to increase the bin lift prices?

All I can remember is that they said they would freeze their prices until Feb 2012, but I don't think they said any more than that?

I spoke to a few different people when signing up some months back. At that time they did not forsee any annual charge but did mention that the 'lift' charge would most likely increase in Jan. '12.

 

[PolkaDot]

Sue Ellen, did Access email you or write to you with the info about the new charge? I have not heard anything from them.

 

[anotherdub]

Along with Access's Happy Christmas and New Year greeting they have notified new annual charge on 'pay-by-lift' of €50 to be paid €25 1/2/12 and €25 1/8/'12

Got the same yesterday. Very sly one - I'm sure many people will miss the price increase slotted in between the Christmas greetings and the 2012 collection day changes.

Looks like Access waited until they got as many movers as possible from Greyhound, and then did the exact same thing in the same underhand manner. What is it about this industry?

 

[anotherdub]

Sue Ellen, did Access email you or write to you with the info about the new charge? I have not heard anything from them.

Here's what we got [broken link removed].
And i just notice the reduced service for the brown bins now.

 

[Sue Ellen]

Sue Ellen, did Access email you or write to you with the info about the new charge? I have not heard anything from them.

They wrote. Same stuff that anotherdub recd. Sneaky alright but in light of the weight charges that people are experiencing with Greyhound they still appear to be the cheapest around.

I could be totally wrong but I get the impression that this is a tough business to be in these days. People are economising so much that quite a lot do not put their bins out very often. If not enough people do so then the companies will find it hard to stay in business.

 

[AgathaC]

Just wondering if any of you, who have switched away from Greyhound have been refunded any amount outstanding in your account with them? There was a very small balance in mine, it has not been refunded, to date. I have emailed them a number of times to ask that they remove the bins. That hasnt happened either.

 

[askew70]

Along with Access's Happy Christmas and New Year greeting they have notified new annual charge on 'pay-by-lift' of €50 to be paid €25 1/2/12 and €25 1/8/'12

They obviously changed their minds about increasing the lift charge which they had originally said they would do in early '12.

Something else to note is that on the flyer they state that the max weight limit on a 240L bin is 40kg and on a 140L bin is 25kg, according to South Dublin County Council Bye-Laws. These are indeed the weight limits listed in [broken link removed]. However what is not clear is what Access Waste will do if your bin exceeds this weight - in [broken link removed] they state a max weigh limit of 60kg for a 240L bin and 30kg for a 120L bin (presumably that is a typo on their part and should read "140L bin"). So, will they refuse to collect a 240L bin weighing more than 40L? This is one of the things I'm planning to check with them before deciding whether to remain with them and pay their service charge as they are now more expensive than Thorntons (service charge is the same for both, Access Waste's per-lift charge is higher).

 

[chrisboy]

Something else to note is that on the flyer they state that the max weight limit on a 240L bin is 40kg and on a 140L bin is 25kg, according to South Dublin County Council Bye-Laws. These are indeed the weight limits listed in [broken link removed]. However what is not clear is what Access Waste will do if your bin exceeds this weight - in [broken link removed] they state a max weigh limit of 60kg for a 240L bin and 30kg for a 120L bin (presumably that is a typo on their part and should read "140L bin"). So, will they refuse to collect a 240L bin weighing more than 40L? This is one of the things I'm planning to check with them before deciding whether to remain with them and pay their service charge as they are now more expensive than Thorntons (service charge is the same for both, Access Waste's per-lift charge is higher).

As i live on my own, i decided to stay with thorntans and change my bin to the smaller 140 litre bin, which only incurs an annual fee of 25 euro.. It also means i can put my bin out more often, which, admittedly is very rare..

 

[ClubMan]

In case it helps anybody:

Key Post Dublin City Council area household refuse collection options

 

[larbar]

Not sure if this discussion is still relevant but thought I'd add the following.Like a lot of people in Lucan, I was 'changed' over to Greyhound and because I had money in my account,it seemed easier to stay because I suspected that getting the money back was not going to be easy done.Anyway,I and it appears a lot of others didn't know what was coming.
I was sort of sure or as sure as I could be that when the change took place the agreement was for €6.50 per black bin lift but as all the brochures were gone, wasn't sure that sure and reading here, this has been confirmed.So I don't know when the pay by weight arrived because I was never notified.There is just my wife and myself living here, our waste in minimal and in a strange way,pay by weight suited.Until last week that is when our bin weight went from an average of about 12L since they started to weight to over 25 in the one week.Nothing extra in it but even if there was an extra bit for some reason,it certainly could not be enough to double the weight?
So, did the truck make a mistake or did someone somehow put 25L extra into my bin without me knowing and me at all times in the house? I can't get an answer from them and it seems the question posed earlier could be looked at i.e. how do we know how much our bin weighs.Seeing I live on a short road, the chances that someone came along and added the same again in rubbish seems unlikely.But I obviously can't be sure.And yet the bin has to be out from 7am and it would be impossible to monitor it every second.
Now Greyhound has my €60 deposit and it's a case of 'their way or the highway '.I see that Greyhound talk in Litres and Thorntons talk in Kg.Would €7 odd be a better deal for me for a full bin compared to 31c per kg.Strongly thinking of changing over and wonder if Thorntons will let me use the old bin because we know Greyhouond won't take them.

 

[PolkaDot]

The way Greyhound are explaining their new pricing system on their website is a disgrace and very misleading. It gives the impression that you will definitely make savings on your bin collections.

The fact is that it is completely dependant on the weight of your bins, which is something that is very hard to know yourself.

I closed my account with Greyhound as soon as they introduced the new system. I did not pay the €60 annual charge.

If I was you I would bite the bullet now, cut your losses and move to Thorntons or Access Waste.

Access let me keep my old bins and are using them. (Apparently they are not supposed to be doing this according to Greyhound, but there doesn't seem to be any major issue with it so far).

Ring Thorntons and see if they will give you new bins for free if you sign up with them. If they will then I would go with that.

 

[larbar]

Thanks PolkaDot.Yes,I think you are right.On checking my figures,it seems that for just over half a bin,with little or no weight,the charge was €7.90 which is a long way from the agreed and originally advertised €6.50 per bin and as I say,my charge wasn't even for a full bin.

 

[RonanC]

Greyhound are in the news again - This time stating that they cannot continue to offer a free waste collection service to those who can avail of the waiver scheme. This is gone beyond a joke now. The deal should have been a contract, and not an entire sellout by the Council.

 

[Sue Ellen]

I could be totally wrong but I get the impression that this is a tough business to be in these days. People are economising so much that quite a lot do not put their bins out very often. If not enough people do so then the companies will find it hard to stay in business.

Its as I thought about this business being cut throat. Letter received this morning from Access confirming that 'following a review of their operation structure' they will no longer be operating a household wheelie bin collection service. All their customers will be transferred over to Thorntons on 1st May and they appear to have similar or ever so slightly cheaper charges .

Access do appear to be continuing on with their skip hire and property clearance.

 

[PolkaDot]

I got the same letter. I hope Thorntons don't expect us to pay a full €50 annual charge having already paid Access €25 in February!

 

[Sue Ellen]

I got the same letter. I hope Thorntons don't expect us to pay a full €50 annual charge having already paid Access €25 in February!

Checked with them and it would appear, quite strangely, that we will still log onto the Access site and check credit and top-up etc. there rather than use the Thornton's one.

Prices will remain the very same as we paid to Access. €8.00 for black bin and €25 x 2 for this year.

Would have to wonder if Access have done a deal with Thorntons to collect for them.