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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to be really angry...?

21 replies

CptFellatioHornblower · 31/01/2013 13:44

I probably am, and feel free to flame away, but I'm really cross and need to rage!

We have now not had our rubbish and recycling collected since before christmas. I can understand the weeks it was snowy, as we live in a bit of an awkward road, but it hasn't been snowing for 6 weeks +!!!

The bin men finally came today and took away the bin bags, but because the bags have been out for so long, foxes and other animals have been through them and made mess.

Still no recycle people though, and it's been very windy/wet the last few days so in addition to the mess from the general waste, there is now plastic bottles/tins/soggy cardboard strewn everywhere.

Dp has been out and picked up a lot of the recycling and piled it all up on our driveway (so we now look like we live in a rubbish tip) but its really not up to him to have done that, nor is it his job to clean up god knows what thats been left from the general waste.

I have made numerous complaints to the local council, as have several of the neighbours, but they have not responded to any of us, so today I called them up.

The woman said "yes we know there's a backlog, but we cant tell you when theyre coming to collect it" which is fair enough. I then asked her if it would be possible to send one of their street cleaning teams around to clear up all of the mess thats been left (this is a service our local council offers if you call), and she says "well if you'd taken the rubbish back in your house then there wouldn't be any mess to clear up" and then hung up on me!!!!

I'm really and how she treated me, and how shoddy the bin service has been, but dp says I'm being ridiculous and that I shouldn't have even bothered calling. He is currently looking at me like for being ranty and cross! AIBU??

Sorry for ranting too

OP posts:

hellsbellsmelons · 31/01/2013 13:47

OMG - that is outrageous - these people need some customer service training.
YANBU. Why on earth would you have bags of rubbish in your house. It would smell and probably start leaking. Yeuk!!!!
I'm sure you got her on a bad day but I would be phoning back to get her name and to get answers to your questions!
I really hope it gets sorted out soon.

Pancakeflipper · 31/01/2013 13:48

contact your local councillor and local MP.

We did after 3 weeks and it got sorted.

HoHoHoNoYouDont · 31/01/2013 13:48

I can kind of understand your frustration but you should have taken the bags back in or put them somewhere (shed/garage maybe) where the wildlife wouldn't have got stuck in.

As for the rude woman on the phone, I suppose it depends on how you spoke to her. If you were having a right good rant at her then I'm not surprised she was short with you.

CaptChaos · 31/01/2013 13:53

I would call back, find out her name and ask to speak to her line manager. The call was probably recorded, so they would be able to check. YANBU to be upset at the poor customer service, or the lack of collections.

FeckOffCup · 31/01/2013 13:53

YANBU, I would be raging too, 6 weeks is a ridiculous length of time with no bin collection, why do things grind to a halt at the slightest bit of snow?

ramblingmum · 31/01/2013 13:54

But if they cant tell the op when they are coming to collect how will she know when to put them back out , if she takes them in?

KenLeeeeeee · 31/01/2013 13:55

I'm usually reluctant to suggest this, but what about getting the newspapers involved? You know they love a bit of council scandal & maybe that would put the wind up them enough to do something about it.

Andro · 31/01/2013 13:58

I can kind of understand your frustration but you should have taken the bags back in or put them somewhere (shed/garage maybe) where the wildlife wouldn't have got stuck in.

Not everyone has a shed or garage.
Not everyone has space to store 6 weeks worth of rubbish in their house.
Can you imagine if OP had a young baby? 6 weeks of festering nappies? In the house? Unhygienic to say the least!

Pandemoniaa · 31/01/2013 13:59

I'd be raging too (our recycling collections can be ad hoc at the best of times) but I also wouldn't have let it pile up in a mess out the front. I'd speak to your local councillor and ask for their help. If they are disinterested then contact the local paper.

HoHoHoNoYouDont · 31/01/2013 14:00

Do you have transport, is there any way you could have taken some of it to a local tip? We had to do this last year.

Pandemoniaa · 31/01/2013 14:01

Sorry, just noticed that you haven't had a general waste collection either. So I guess you had little choice about where to put the rubbish out. Advice about speaking to local councillor still stands though. Are you on Twitter? Only your local council will be and tweeting can be surprisingly effective.

HumptyDumptyBumpty · 31/01/2013 14:05

YANBU at all OP - presumably this is a problem across more than just your road? If so, there will be people in flats, who won't have anywhere except their living space, to store rubbish. This is outrageous. I would be calling back and asking (under FOI rules) to have a breakdown of your Council Tax, so that you can apply for a rebate for 6 weeks worth of the cost of rubbish collection and recycling services. That ought to get the lazy bums in gear.

Llanbobl · 31/01/2013 17:47

Whilst it's frustrating not having your waste collected (3 weeks for our recycling and almost a week late for general rubbish) It's not the end of the world. It drives me mad that people just keep piling rubbish up outside in flimsy bags that foxes, cats etc can get into - as another poster suggested keep it in a garage or shed. You could also take your excess rubbish to the local tip yourself which would mean fewer fixes and a tidier neighbourhood.
It's great that we have waste collections, but sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands in order to maintain a clean tidy and sanitary environment.

Original poster

CptFellatioHornblower · 31/01/2013 18:23

We do have a baby... She's 11 months old so not an eccesive amount of nappies but still more than we'd like in the house.
We also don't have a shed or garage to put the rubbish in, and to take them to our garden to minimise the distance its spread, we would have to carry the soggy rained/snowed on rubbish through the house.
We're meant to get rubbish collected every week, hence us putting the rubbish out every week, and I know the rubbish that's now spilled everywhere is a lot our fault because we've HAD to leave the rubbish outside.
Thankyou for all the responses! Its nice to know I'm not completely insane!!!

OP posts:

Original poster

CptFellatioHornblower · 31/01/2013 18:26

We don't have a car to take the rubbish anywhere, and even if we could borrow one our "local" tip doesn't allow us to take household waste there because its 14 miles away and we're not in the area they allow people to tip there, which is another reason its so frustrating they've not collected!

OP posts:

Ashoething · 31/01/2013 18:28

Op have you had any sort of rebate or refund on your council tax? doubt it! This is not a FREE service you are expecting-you pay for it so tell them to come and collect the bloody rubbish! Have to LOL at the posters suggesting keeping it in your garage or shed-why should she?

We have had numerous letters off the council complaining that we dont take our rubbish out. We do-faithfully. But if the bin is too full for the binmens liking then they chuck the rubbish anywhere or neighbours use our bin for their rubbish and ours gets dumped. Guess where these letters end up?-yep in the bin...

Original poster

CptFellatioHornblower · 31/01/2013 18:55

I did comment to DP this morning actually that I was wondering why we paid the council tax if we weren't receiving council services (I do know there's more to it than that btw)

OP posts:

Lorialet · 31/01/2013 18:55

I would take photos and put them on fixmystreet.com and try and shame them into doing something. Don't forget to mention in the comments what the rude assistant did.

Llanbobl · 01/02/2013 07:55

Sheds and garages have been suggested as a safe place to keep rubbish to deter foxes, rats etc. I find the "why should she?" attitude from some posters rude and entitled. We all have to live in our community and should take some pride in it. If we can take steps to help keep it clean, we should. I'm not advocating all rubbish is kept in sheds/garages just in exceptional circs. The number if people who still put their bins out over Bank holidays when the council have given advance warning if revised collections is staggering....as is the fact they continue to add rubbish to bins which are already overflowing. They don't rush to pick their rubbish up when it blows down the street or vermin get in for waste food stuff - but hey, why should they

Original poster

CptFellatioHornblower · 01/02/2013 08:40

llanbobl I would if I could! But I literally don't have anywhere except my house to keep it

OP posts:

Llanbobl · 01/02/2013 16:31

Cpt my last post was not aimed at you - you explained why you can't.

It's the "meh why should she?" attitude of other posters' it makes me cross when people think they can absolve all responsibility because "it's not free, you're paying for a service". Yes you are through council tax, but it is still heavily subsidised. So anything a person can do to benefit their community helps.

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