Garbageman giving me static

Mill

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
28,558
3
81
Last Wednesday (our trash day) the garbageman didn't pickup my trash. I was at home, so I chased his ass down the street and asked him why they didn't pick my trash up. He said: "Operations says your account is in collections." I told him that wasn't true -- I paid my bill 4 quarters in advance -- and that if he waited two seconds I could get him a CC statement showing this. He told me he couldn't wait and to call the office.

I call the office and they told me someone had miscoded my payment. My service was canceled in October of 2006. WTF? This entire time they've been picking up my trash and have never said a word to me about a problem with my account. I paid 170 dollars back in May of 2006 for four quarters of service plus the current quarter. So, my trash service doesn't expire until September. They have the payment listed, the CSR apologized, said it was fixed and that was it.

Today, again, the Garbageman refuses to pickup my trash. I plead with him telling I already contacted the office and everything is supposed to be fixed. He gives me a snaggled-tooth grin, makes a smart-ass remark, and takes off down the street with the truck belching smoke.

I call back. Same problem. Waiting for manager to call me. They tell me they cannot send someone out to pickup two weeks of trash until my account is "reopened." I have the CC statement. They show the payment in their system but the manager is on lunch, so they cannot reopen the account or schedule a pickup. I'm thinking of faxing about 100 copies of it directly up their ass. I'd drive over there and yell at someone until I got arrested but they are like 45 minutes away.

Suggestions?

*Update*

Manager called me while I was in a meeting purchasing life insurance. She told me I would have to pay a 40 dollar "restart service fee" and late fees since my current service expired in October. Exasperated I told her to look on the account and see the yearly payment. I was on hold for about five minutes and she came back and said she saw that. She told me that they miscoded it so my account closed in October. To restart service I needed to pay my current quarter. I thought that was paid with the year sum, but she claims otherwise Obviously the problem with that is that they never sent me a bill because my account was closed. After she realized it was their fault that scheduled a pickup for 1-2 days from now, and I'm mailing them a check for this quarter.

Wouldn't it have been easier if they had applied the payment correctly to begin with? She was dead set on getting this quarter's payment before coming back out, too. I told her that that was BS because I've always paid on-time, but if you close my account and don't send me a bill because of YOUR mistake how and God's name would I know to pay you? I was told the yearly payment was through September 2007 anyway.

Finally she agreed it was their mistake, zero late fees, and they will pickup this week. I just have to write them a check for this quarter. Really, imho, they should just give me the quarter for free since they've already missed two weeks of pickups because of their own ineptness. But, alas, I'm mailing them a check this afternoon. I already dealt with them August 1st on the phone after the first missed pickup and the CSR told me I was current through September 2007.

I don't know if they just feel like extorting another quarter or what.


***Update 2***

They did not pick-up today. I called in and was told my account was canceled again. Livid doesn't describe it.

I filed a complaint with my County Commissioner and the department that oversees Environmental Services (and by-proxy they award contracts for sanitation).
 

Platypus

Lifer
Apr 26, 2001
31,053
321
136
Take all your trash and dump it on their office doorstep until they resume your service.
 

Mill

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
28,558
3
81
Originally posted by: nakedfrog
Dude, garbage man is not the preferred nomenclature.

Sorry, sanitation engineer. I forget that sometimes when he bares his nasty buckteeth at me.
 

shiner

Lifer
Jul 18, 2000
17,116
1
0
Originally posted by: Platypus
Take all your trash and dump it on their office doorstep until they resume your service.

That is the correct answer.

/thread

 

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
its only forty five minutes, hell I take dumps that last longer. Go for it.
 

Gneisenau

Senior member
May 30, 2007
264
0
0
Put your trash in boxes and rap it up in pretty wrapping paper and leave it in your car overnight. I will be gone by the next morning....Of course you car may be gone too...:)
 

Gneisenau

Senior member
May 30, 2007
264
0
0
Originally posted by: nakedfrog
Dude, garbage man is not the preferred nomenclature.

What is the correct Nomenclature? Garbage person? Any other name means the same damn thing.

 

Mill

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
28,558
3
81
Originally posted by: Platypus
Take all your trash and dump it on their office doorstep until they resume your service.

It has been stewing in 95+ degree temps for a week, and then all this week it has been 100+ I'd almost consider it an abomination to bestow it on some hapless slave working at their office. If I knew where the garbageman-cum-driver-cum-sanitation engineer lived, I'd put it in his bed for him to sleep in tonight -- almost like the Godfather. It might be misplaced anger, but I'm more upset at his smirk and unwillingness not to be such a fucktard that I feel he deserves the bulk of my wrath.
 

hanoverphist

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2006
9,928
23
76
the recycle pick up guy here decided that the stuff my kids put in there wasnt approved and tossed it in my yard. whether it was or wasnt, i would have preferred if he just didnt pick it up at all over throwing it around my yard on a windy day, i had to pick it up out most of my neighbors and my yard. i called and complained, they said it wasnt their policy to do this. it happened another time, i called and he is either on a different route or just gone. but i dont pay for it separately, its part of my water bill.
 

cjchaps

Diamond Member
Jul 24, 2000
3,013
1
81
Sue 'EM!#@!@

Actually call the city itself and complain. Tell them your story and don't believe you are getting anywhere with them.
 

CPA

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
30,322
4
0
Believe me, there is plenty of competition in the waste industry. Unless your HOA contracted out to a specific provider, you can call a number of local places to pick up.
 

nakedfrog

No Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
58,161
12,338
136
Originally posted by: cjchaps
Sue 'EM!#@!@

Actually call the city itself and complain. Tell them your story and don't believe you are getting anywhere with them.

It doesn't sound like the city is involved here. I pay a company to take my trash, the city doesn't have a service.
 

hanoverphist

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2006
9,928
23
76
Originally posted by: CPA
Believe me, there is plenty of competition in the waste industry. Unless your HOA contracted out to a specific provider, you can call a number of local places to pick up.

problem is, he prepaid for this month and next... they wont care if you get someone else to pick it up now, they get the cash for free that way. call the city and complain.
 

torpid

Lifer
Sep 14, 2003
11,631
11
76
I assume you will be calling to get added time you don't have to pay for on your account right? If they don't pick up your trash when they admit they should be, they owe you additional weeks.
 

CPA

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
30,322
4
0
Originally posted by: hanoverphist
Originally posted by: CPA
Believe me, there is plenty of competition in the waste industry. Unless your HOA contracted out to a specific provider, you can call a number of local places to pick up.

problem is, he prepaid for this month and next... they wont care if you get someone else to pick it up now, they get the cash for free that way. call the city and complain.

I was commenting on his Topic Summary. The city won't and can't do anything if it's a private company.

Mill, I PM'd you.
 

FoBoT

No Lifer
Apr 30, 2001
63,089
12
76
fobot.com
dang that sucks

you'll just have to keep calling the office i guess

p.s. garbage service where i live is private, so i can fire my guy and go to the other company if i need to

good luck
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
110,597
29,231
146
Originally posted by: Platypus
Take all your trash and dump it on their office doorstep until they resume your service.


this is good, or you can also shove your trash into your neighbors' bins.

...unless the garbageman is some seinfeld-esque character that recognizes your trash from everyone else's
 

Mr Pickles

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2006
4,104
1
0
If you are going to go through all that trouble just bring your own damn trash to the dump.
 

AbsolutDealage

Platinum Member
Dec 20, 2002
2,675
0
0
That's interesting. Around here all of the trash is done through the city. Never heard of privatized trash collection before.
 

invidia

Platinum Member
Oct 8, 2006
2,151
1
0
They're called sanitation personnel, not garbage men. Not all sanitation personnel are men too. Like how my job is sometimes called facilities sanitation engineer supervisor (janitor manager)