Panda bin charges 93% increase

[Coldwarrior]

I've had Panda bin collection for the last 3 years, paying 19 euro per month for 42kg pm of black bin waste, and unlimited brown and green bins. They send me an incorrect invoice every July that I have to ring them up and correct, but generally haven't had any problem with them otherwise. Got an email at the end of April (that I've just noticed) saying that from May 1st their pricing was changing to as follows:

Yearly Service Charge	€288
Yearly General Waste Allowance	126Kg
General Waste usage above your Yearly allowance	€0.30 per Kg
Yearly Recycling Allowance	90Kg
Recycling usage above your Yearly allowance	€0.19 per Kg
Yearly Compost Allowance	120Kg
Compost usage above your Yearly allowance	€0.19 per Kg

Also another email a few days later saying they are adding a 1.13 euro monthly fuel levy on top of this. So looking back at my usage for last year, my yearly bill would go from 228 euro to around 440 euro, a 93% increase!

I can switch to another company for 20 euro per month, with 600kg annual black bin allowage and unlimited green and brown, which I'll be doing, but Panda will charge me 30 quid per bin to take away their old bins. So a 90 euro fee to leave them, despite not being in any term contract etc. This seems very anti-competive, discouraging customers from switching between bin companies when they increase their prices. I don't get charged to send back the TV box and router if I switch between Sky and Virgin for example (outside of the term of a contract). Where's the regulator in this, asleep at the wheel as usual.

Has anyone found a way around the fee for them to take back the bins? Any of the other companies offer to pay the charge etc if you switch to them?

 

[ClubMan]

Panda will charge me 30 quid per bin to take away their old bins

I returned several bins last year and it didn't cost me anything. But I can't remember if they were collected by Panda or Greyhound or a combination. They were originally provided by Dublin City Council years previously but when I contacted them they said that I needed to contact the private refuse collection service providers.

 

[Colin4444]

Panda will charge me 30 quid per bin to take away their old bins.

I wouldnt pay that... Put them in your car and bring em to the dump, would be cheaper And if they claim that it is their property so you cant dump em then say they can collect em free of charge anytime

 

[Colin4444]

Im with panda, havent had that email yet (did get the one re fuel charge)! When I do will move to Bord na Mona, only other offering in my area..

 

[shweeney]

where are you that they have such a small allowance? We're still on 25kg a month.

Incidentally, looking at their price list - who exactly is the pay per lift option aimed at? You'd need to e putting your bins out less than every 2 months to save money over the cheapest regular plan. Maybe single people who generate very little waste but they'd probably be better off taking an occasional trip to the dump or sharing bins with a neighbour.

 

[ClubMan]

You'd need to e putting your bins out less than every 2 months

That's me. Two adult home - myself and my adult son. I compost kitchen waste and dispose of recycling and garden waste at my local Bring Centre. That leaves very little to put out for refuse collection. My area is still on pay as you go bag collection and the management company for the private (but not gated) area technically disallow wheelie bin. But many houses use them and the service providers use underhand pressure selling techniques to convince some people that they have to take them.

 

[Coldwarrior]

So their loyalty team have since called me back and I got basically the same deal I was on originally after pointing out I could switch to a competitor for roughly half of Panda's new price. The new deal though is done through a strange combination of higher monthly fee and credits on my account to offset this to get it to match the 19pm I'm currently paying, with 45kg monthly black bin allowance and unlimited brown/green. Suspect I'll need to ring them next year again though to avoid just rolling on to the higher monthly rate when the credits run out.

I still think the fee to collect the bins when switching suppliers is ridiculous though, I've since read Panda aren't the only ones to do this. Where's the CCPC or whatever regulator we have for the household bin collection.

 

[Blackrock1]

So their loyalty team have since called me back and I got basically the same deal I was on originally after pointing out I could switch to a competitor for roughly half of Panda's new price. The new deal though is done through a strange combination of higher monthly fee and credits on my account to offset this to get it to match the 19pm I'm currently paying, with 45kg monthly black bin allowance and unlimited brown/green. Suspect I'll need to ring them next year again though to avoid just rolling on to the higher monthly rate when the credits run out.

i'm sure its to satisfy some metrics that their new overlords have for showing recurring revenues.