Should landscaper pay for rubbish disposal?

[SadlyMissTaken]

Hi all
I commissioned someone to build a patio and walls at the back of my garden. Limit on price was £5k. I made clear I could not go above that. No contract (I know ... Idiot) Part way through landscaper said he expected my partner to take the rubbish (concrete from old path and wall etc) to the tip. I don't drive, partner is an alcoholic and we split up before xmas. Property is mine.
I did point out that relying on partner wasn't going to work.
The guy has been a nightmare to deal with to say the least but that's another story.
Job is now almost finished and builder has texted me asking for full payment minus £200 for outstanding remaining work on the patio (there is more than £200 worth outstanding). The pile of rubbish in my front garden and side alley is now massive. I understand skips are £300/half hour to hire and I will also need help filling it up. AIBU to dispute being left with this extra cost given I specified £5k max for the job? Or should I suck it up as I didn't sign a contract?
Thanks

Rent a skip (as everyone else said, it's a flat fee) but ask the landscaper to fill it for you. It seems to me he did tell you he's not going to dispose of the waste as he said your partner should do it, so I don't think you can ask him to do it now, but as a gesture of goodwill he might help you fill the skip.

Imagine the state of the country though if every contractor just left their rubbish at the end of a job. At the end of every quote we always would state all rubbish to be removed on completion and builders would leave the completed job neat and tidy - how times have changed!

It’s normal for tradespeople not to take rubbish unless that’s contractually agreed and paid for, because they are charged to take it to the tip, whereas you could take it to the tip without being charged. I don’t think you’ve got a leg to stand on here. You can’t make him come and take it unless you pay him what he wants for that service, and you don’t have any legal cause of action either.

That’s where you went wrong, you needed a contract stating what was included in the price, a steep learning curve.

You can get huge skips for 50 a week round where I live as they reuse the rubble to make their own hardcore (for rubble waste only). Worth looking into local skip companies. I would expect him to sort waste but id expect you to pay for it

Is there any case for arguing the pallets are his waste? I don't drive so if I offload the sand and hardcore it will be just those to get rid of. He has dumped them on the pile

I put 4 pallets in my front garden and they were gone the next day. People tend to use them for projects. Put them outside and see if any takers

300 for half hour skip hire? Ours is 300 a huge skip with no time limit, just call when its full.

But if youve agreed a max price, that's the first thing id expect him not to do.

Sadly, I think you need to chalk this up to experience as you clearly state that you did not ensure the verbal contract included removal of waste.

Occasionally I have a gardener come and lots of jobs in the garden, hedges cut, weeding, digging out roots etc and I always ensure the deal includes tidying up and legal removal of all waste, be that by them or by them subcontracting a waste removal firm.

And when I had my old kitchen yanked ot and a new one put in with new appliances, I ensured the contract included removal of all waste.

Please go careful and be wary of 'get what you wish for'.
Old neighbor of ours complained about their new gardener not removing waste, gardener said he would light a bonfire instead, ended up catching their clothes line alight and burnt down their thatched cottage. Insurance not paid out and they now live in a caravan.

I’ve hired loads of skips over the years, some for my own DIY work, other through tradesmen. I have always pain an amount for the skip for a certain number of days, based on the size of the skip. I have never pain by the hour as original poster said, I think that might be a mistake.

The most recent skip was for a landscaping job, I was having a new drive with some fencing. I was given a meticulous quote, almost too detailed which outlined everything, materials, their labour, cost of skips etc and included info about unforeseen contingencies that would incur extra costs but it would be discussed with me first. As the work went on, the men found a sinkhole under part of the drive they were digging up which meant they needed to buy some more materials to fill it in. Then they discovered that some very large blocks of concrete, probably from an original wall, had been used as infill but they needed to be dug up and disposed of for my new drive to be installed. This meant an extra skip emptying was needed so I was given the cost for that. I’m glad I’d had such a detailed quote as it meant I could see exactly what the landscaper was going to do and where my funds were going.

I have never had a skip hired via a tradesman that was not filled by them. Neither have I ever had a job done where waste disposal was not mentioned before the work began. This landscaper seemed remiss and unprofessional for not giving you a written quote or contract and for not mentioning the situation re skips with you before you agreed to the work. Reputable tradesmen who need to use skips always get a better trade price from a regular supplier than I would be able to got for a one off hire.

In this case, you probably have no choice other than to sort out a skip yourself but could you ask the landscaper to move the waste into it for an additional cost?

It’s a bit of a nightmare for you at this late stage.

Good luck in sorting it out.

Thanks all
I am going to try to reduce the stuff by advertising it