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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Should I complain about the binman???

28 replies

stoppinattwo · 04/12/2008 12:10

so they say...make sure that your bins are out by 7.30am so that they can be collected...we have 3 wheelie bins, a red one a grey one and a blue one. 7.29....i hear the bin wagon out side and i dash out half dressed and barefoot to put the wheelie bin on the footpath outside, as the bin man will not step foot on the drive, just as he is emptying the neighbous bin,...unfortunatley in the dark I grabbed the wrong wheeliebin (it was quite dark still and i mistook the red one for the grey one) and he said "I cant empty that one LUV!!!! its for recycling"...I said opps sorry, just give me a minute i will get the right one...which was about 6 ft away from me at which he said, sorry cant wait....and the wagon drove off with him following behind....so i shouted him back and said "hang on a minute will you, your in too much of a rush", he said you will have to bring the wheeli bin to the van (which by this time was half way down the street!!) I said but im getting soaked and have no shoes on!!!!....he just shrugged and walked off

He is definately NOT getting a xmas tip the stupid twunt...anyway, do i phone up and complain or am i being just too Victor Meldrew???

OP posts:
dizzydixies · 04/12/2008 12:12

its a pisser isn't it, they did it to me too whilst very heavily pregnant so couldnt' chase them

if you phone you'll get sod all from it if they're as useless as ours

Itsjustsorandom · 04/12/2008 12:13

Leave it - they'll only say your bin wasn't out at 7.30

leoleomakingalist · 04/12/2008 12:14

They prob wont care anyway if you complain.

ruddynorah · 04/12/2008 12:15

the rule is your bin had to be out by 7.30 and it wasn't. so what would the basis of your complaint be?

can you put it out the night before?

Dropdeadfred · 04/12/2008 12:16

why not put your bin out ast thing at night?

Original poster
stoppinattwo · 04/12/2008 12:16

but our bin is a long way along the street so they must have been out before 7.30am....they used to collect at 4.30am....kept waking me up, till i complained ...this was at our old address so i dont think it is the same binman

OP posts:
mayorquimby · 04/12/2008 12:17

in fairness your bin wasn't out by 7.30

i'd imagine they have a blanket rule about holding up the bin lorry or some such.

it's a pisser but for some reason that's how all services seem to be run these days.

Original poster
stoppinattwo · 04/12/2008 12:18

it was out by 7.30....but only because i heard them coming, my problem was he didnt wait for me to get the right bin, i was literally 6ft away from it, he was just being quite ignorant....not v good customer relations i thought.

The problem with leaving them out the night before is if they dont get melted to the pavement they get emptied by people that arnt binmen

OP posts:
NoPresentsInVictorianSqualor · 04/12/2008 12:20

Last week DP forgot to put our bin out (well, he said 'I'll do it in the morning') and the bin truck woke us up so he dashed down to take it out and they were leaving the close.
He had to take it down the street and meet-up with them again which was annoying (Well, for him, I was LOLing at him running down the street with the bin) but it was our fault.

dizzydixies · 04/12/2008 12:21

the problem with not very good customer relations is that they don't need to keep you sweet

if you miss it you miss it and its you that has to deal with the overflow till the next pick up

dilbertina · 04/12/2008 12:22

Did you smile at him? or look pissed off because they were 30secs early? In my very limited experience bin-men are lovely and helpful if you treat them with a bit of respect, like most people really. Maybe I've just got especially nice bin men....

And to echo many others WHY don't you put it out night before and avoid mad early morning dash?

ruddynorah · 04/12/2008 12:23

the RIGHT bin was not out by 7.30 ie the bin you wanted them to collect.

can you put it out the night before?

IllegallyBrunette · 04/12/2008 12:24

We don't have wheelie bins, still bags here, and in our area they have had people under surveilance (sp?) to check that people don't put the bags out early

Apparently we aren't allowed to put them out until 6:30 pm the night before collection.

So basically, I am suposed to get in from school, sopping wet cos it is pissing it down, get all dry and warm, and then go back outside after 6:30 to put the bags out.

Sod that. Mine go out as son as I get in from school, so 4pm.

Original poster
stoppinattwo · 04/12/2008 12:24

arrgghhh...but my point is i hadnt missed it, I was on time, he was outside my house talking to me as i brought the wheelie bin to them, and they drove away from me and told me I would have to follow the van, if he had waited 2 seconds i would have been there....

Oh im haviong my rant on here and not on the phone

OP posts:
Original poster
stoppinattwo · 04/12/2008 12:25

Dibetine...I was nice until they drove away...

OP posts:
Original poster
stoppinattwo · 04/12/2008 12:26

ruddynorah...I wasnt late, they were in the street before 7.30, that is my point

OP posts:
Original poster
stoppinattwo · 04/12/2008 12:27

ooooooooooh Im getting all Victor Meldrew....I need to Chill

OP posts:
ajandjjmum · 04/12/2008 12:35

I am sure there are exceptions, but I have found our binmen increasingly unhelpful over the years - so mine no longer get a Christmas tip.

I read last Christmas that whereas many families used to give them £5/£10, they were no longer doing so because of the poor customer service they were receiving.

GYoIsReallyHavingABaby · 04/12/2008 12:36

Wow - 7.30am is a treat!I'd be thrilled to have til 7.30am to get my bins out!

Our bin men come at 6.15am, poss earlier and we dont get wheelie bins just sacks. So if we put it out the night before foxes tear open the bags.

So we put ours out at 6am every week!

MincePirate · 04/12/2008 12:40

so you didn't get the right one in his mits before 7.30, but he was also not very helpful either was he. Bit like bus drivers who ignore people who have run to a bus stop, and shut the doors in thier face on purpose.

amess · 04/12/2008 12:40

Our bins have to be out by 7am officially and you are not allowed to put them out the night before. In winter I hate it when it's so dark. However if its the black bin they don't come until 11am BUT IF IT'S THE GREEN BIN WITH ALL THE FOOD THAT'S BEEN WAITING FOR TWO WEEKS THEY COME BY 6.50AM!

wotulookinat · 04/12/2008 12:42

I would report it as a missed collection and they will come back and get it at some point.

ChukkyPig · 04/12/2008 12:42

Don't bother complaining. I think he was horrible though if that helps!

We get skips on our road from the council sometimes and they have a bloke sit next to it whose job seems to be to be aggressive to anyone who goes near it and to prevent them putting any rubbish in. He is really scary and unpleasant. Some people are just like that.

ilovemydog · 04/12/2008 12:47

It depends who is collecting your rubbish.

Where we live, it's done by a contractor, so if one calls up to complain, then the contractor gets fined or penalized. Complaints are taken seriously.

But you don't want to make an enemy of the guys who collect the rubbish. They can 'forget' to take all of it, put crappy notices on your bin, and 'accidently' spill some of it on your drive...

pamelat · 04/12/2008 12:50

Dont complain about him personally (they don't earn a fortune and I would imagine its hard work and it is nearly Christmas)

However, call your council and say that they missed your bin. I have done this before and its been collected within 48 hours.

Its like when you see bus drivers drive off even though some poor old dear is clearly running for the bus, horrible people.

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