Refuse Collection - Are you Moving

racingboo

I've had a bit of an unfortunate experience with Oxigen, after being with them for almost ten years now. I'm a pay per use customer as we separate at throwaway point and recycle most of our waste at a nearby recycling centre (V&A in Dundalk). As a result we only need to put our bins out occasionally, costing us on average probably less than 20 per month, often less than 10.

Yesterday morning, I got a text saying my account was now overdrawn by 92 euro. That was a surprise, because it had been in credit - only just - due to be topped up today for the coming month. I phoned them, and it turns out they neglected to charge us for brown bin lifts since we switched to pay per use - in other words, since 2012.

Now, these things happen, my other half is in finance with accounting background and he said it's not unusual for an accounting department to discover an oversight and bill for it now. However (and he agrees with me on this!):

1. A text out of the blue was unacceptable. I would have liked a phone call with an explanation.
2. Because this was not my mistake but theirs, I think an offer of a payment arrangement which would suit me would have been in order. Instead, the full amount in one go is demanded immediately.
3. Because this was not my mistake but theirs, I don't think suspending my service until I cough up is fair. As I mentioned, today would have been top up day, so the black bin is quite full. Not having any service for however long would have been a serious problem. And yes, I asked, the person I spoke to confirmed that no bins of mine would be lifted until the full amount plus the required credit was paid in full - it would come to about 120 euro rather than the 20 I'd budgeted.

As it is, I put their bins out in the lane beside our home where I usually park them for lifting, I had told the guy I spoke to on the phone that they must please come and collect them. I emailed them last night to make sure there is written notification of this, but reading through this thread I think I should post a letter, too. Maybe registered post as well. In truth I'm annoyed to have to leave them, I've been happy enough with their service and their website is excellent. However, I need a reliable account of what I owe, like probably most people in Ireland I can't afford expensive surprises like this, especially if they're accompanied by treating me the way they did.

I've looked at two alternatives we have here, ACE and Ecological, and I think we're going to go with the latter. Neighbours of ours are very happy with their contract service, and while it looks as if they may be a tad more expensive overall, they don't charge for the "compost caddy collection". That would suit us better, as then we don't have to wait until the brown bin is full to get full value out of the lift, solving the problem I've had of that bin getting really disgusting by the time it's emptied.

Brick Session

racingboo wrote: »

I've had a bit of an unfortunate experience with Oxigen, after being with them for almost ten years now. I'm a pay per use customer as we separate at throwaway point and recycle most of our waste at a nearby recycling centre (V&A in Dundalk). As a result we only need to put our bins out occasionally, costing us on average probably less than 20 per month, often less than 10.

Yesterday morning, I got a text saying my account was now overdrawn by 92 euro. That was a surprise, because it had been in credit - only just - due to be topped up today for the coming month. I phoned them, and it turns out they neglected to charge us for brown bin lifts since we switched to pay per use - in other words, since 2012.

Now, these things happen, my other half is in finance with accounting background and he said it's not unusual for an accounting department to discover an oversight and bill for it now. However (and he agrees with me on this!):

1. A text out of the blue was unacceptable. I would have liked a phone call with an explanation.
2. Because this was not my mistake but theirs, I think an offer of a payment arrangement which would suit me would have been in order. Instead, the full amount in one go is demanded immediately.
3. Because this was not my mistake but theirs, I don't think suspending my service until I cough up is fair. As I mentioned, today would have been top up day, so the black bin is quite full. Not having any service for however long would have been a serious problem. And yes, I asked, the person I spoke to confirmed that no bins of mine would be lifted until the full amount plus the required credit was paid in full - it would come to about 120 euro rather than the 20 I'd budgeted.

As it is, I put their bins out in the lane beside our home where I usually park them for lifting, I had told the guy I spoke to on the phone that they must please come and collect them. I emailed them last night to make sure there is written notification of this, but reading through this thread I think I should post a letter, too. Maybe registered post as well. In truth I'm annoyed to have to leave them, I've been happy enough with their service and their website is excellent. However, I need a reliable account of what I owe, like probably most people in Ireland I can't afford expensive surprises like this, especially if they're accompanied by treating me the way they did.

I've looked at two alternatives we have here, ACE and Ecological, and I think we're going to go with the latter. Neighbours of ours are very happy with their contract service, and while it looks as if they may be a tad more expensive overall, they don't charge for the "compost caddy collection". That would suit us better, as then we don't have to wait until the brown bin is full to get full value out of the lift, solving the problem I've had of that bin getting really disgusting by the time it's emptied.

Did you contact them about this?

racingboo

I phoned them as soon as I got the text. That is how I know why I was charged this amount, and how I know my service is suspended until I pay it - I asked about that specifically. I didn't ask if a payment arrangement could be made, but was not offered it either.

racingboo

Update: Someone from Oxigen saw my posts on this thread and contacted me privately. This person, like all staff I've dealt with at Oxigen, was very polite and approachable, and offered to try to work things out for me.

I've made up my mind and have already paid a service charge to Ecological, but for the information of anyone viewing this thread, Oxigen provides a very good service with competetive prices. Hopefully the information I gave them from a customer's perspective will mean you won't come up against the problem I encountered. I actually don't think I'll necessarily get better service elsewhere, I think it will be equal, though, and without this history to sour my view of them.

Ecological was very easy to sign up with through their website. I phoned them to make sure of a few details, and found out my bins will be delivered today!

Second update: Just checked the post and it seems Oxigen's solution (separate from person who contacted me, must have already been done when I added to this thread) to "customer is angry that we treat them like an object" is to pop a printout of the lifts record and account transaction details in the post. Nothing else, no explanation, no cover letter, nothing. Unbelievable. If I'd been doubtful about leaving them before, believe me, I'm not any more.

taytobreath

I wouldnt pay them a penny, take your loyalty to Ecological and never look back.

Luckycharms_74

racingboo wrote: »

Ecological was very easy to sign up with through their website. I phoned them to make sure of a few details, and found out my bins will be delivered today!

taytobreath wrote: »

I wouldnt pay them a penny, take your loyalty to Ecological and never look back.

I just called them . They don't service Waterford

racingboo

So sorry, I only just saw this thread was in the Waterford section! I'd originally found it by doing a search for "Oxigen", and didn't take note of the broader category. Hope you find an alternative soon.

Harry Palmr

Bump - Waste Pal are being taken over by Greenstar. Charges remain as is. The account switchover needs to be done by December 29th.

kryogen

We will be looking to switch soon maybe, currently with Oxygen, who is the best value out there now?

Tim the Enchanter

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Bump - Waste Pal are being taken over by Greenstar. Charges remain as is. The account switchover needs to be done by December 29th.

I'm with Waste Pal but haven't had any notice of this. I'm in the county and greenstars prices are about €100 per year more expensive. We pay €260 per year with Waste Pal, Greenstar were looking for €410 but came down to 360 when pushed. Plus their customer service is atrocious.

Harry Palmr

Maybe you'll have something in the post soon.

Nothing on the website about it yet.

https://www.wastepal.com/webclient/

Harry Palmr

What's the current bin situation in the City, who is providing a service at the moment? Any new names, its hard to keep up!

katydid

KevIRL wrote: »

Oxigen, €20 per month, no charge per bin. 1 large black and green bin collected on rotating weeks. €240 per year all in, really cant argue with that

Same here. How come some people are also paying for bin tags? I'm in the city suburbs.

KevIRL

katydid wrote: »

Same here. How come some people are also paying for bin tags? I'm in the city suburbs.

Pay by weight will be mandatory by July of next year so the good times may be over. Necessary evil I guess as we simply can't sustain stuffing landfill with crap

danjo-xx

Harry Palmr wrote: »

What's the current bin situation in the City, who is providing a service at the moment? Any new names, its hard to keep up!

No new names, mainly Oxigen, Greenstar & Wastepal, not sure if Mr Binman is still operating.

You can get all your bins emptied twice a month for €25pm with Oxigen or you can pay per lift + annual service charge.

Wanderer78

KevIRL wrote: »

Necessary evil I guess as we simply can't sustain stuffing landfill with crap

incinerators all the way!

danjo-xx

Wanderer78 wrote: »

incinerators all the way!

yup we need more cancer causing air pollution to see us all off, but not outside your door of course.:D

Wanderer78

danjo-xx wrote: »

yup we need more cancer causing air pollution to see us all off, but not outside your door of course.:D

or we could keep going with cancer causing landfills! ah sure none of us want this stuff around but we gotta deal with it. incinerators are fine provided theyre correctly run. strange how theres very little giving out about this facility and its been running since 2011:

http://www.indaver.ie/installations-and-processes/infrastructure-in-ireland/meath/

theres a lot of very bad info out there on incinerators. they are the best way we have of dealing with rubbish right now. the technology is impressive, even though they aint 100% perfect, but nothing is in this game. we could always go back to dumping it at sea