Waste Industries Trashes Customers Then Begs for Their Business

Who is laughing now?
Waste Industries is scrambling to save the business they once enjoyed in Gwinnett County. They expected to lose all of their customers after the implementation of a very controversial county waste management plan. Instead of joining in with the two small businesses that challenged this plan, they tried to suck every last dime they could, by charging a deactivation fee. This infuriated many customers including myself.

After the temporary injunction was granted last week by Judge Michael Clark, Waste Industries launched a robo call campaign to inform their customers they would continue to service them in 2009. They said "if you paid the deactivation fee, it would be credited to your next invoice", and they still intended on being my service provider.

I, like many others, decided not to pay this deactivation fee. A fee, as described by their CEO, covering the expenses of closing their branch in Gwinnett. Many of us even filed complaints with the BBB and the Office of Consumer Affairs as well as protest in writing.

So when I received this call that pretended like nothing had happened, I laughed. There is no way I was going to do business with them. After all, they destroyed any trust or sympathy I could possibly have for them and did not deserve my business. The first thing I did was to call one of the small businesses (Southern Sanitation) that actually fought to get this injunction. It took me over three hours of calling to get through because the line was busy. Not only were they very nice and helpful, but they were less expensive than Waste Industries, or my assigned provider under the new plan. Their actions, by challenging this plan and pricing, indicates to me they really appreciated my business and will provide superior service. Of course this will still have to be proved, but I look forward to giving them the chance.


Next, since I had not paid the deactivation fee to Waste Industries, I had to make sure it had been removed from my account. After all, I have protested in writing, have an open case with the BBB, and I do not intend on having an account with them to credit it to. It took me another three hours to get through to them on the phone. Not because the line was busy, but because after ringing off the hook, it would just go to a taped message directing you to their website for information. On the site they only stated what they did in the automated call.
Talk about being rude to your customers. What about those that don't have, or can't use the Internet? Or even worse, what if the caller was a potential new customer? This has to be one of the dumbest business decisions I've seen. With all the mistakes this company has made they deserve to go out of business.

Anyway, they finally answered the phone and I actually spoke to someone. The person I spoke with told me my account did not show any fees. It was like pulling teeth when I asked if they could send me a statement reflecting this. I politely explained that I have received a past due notice on this fee and I needed something to show I had a zero balance. This way I will be able to close my case with the BBB in a more favorable way. It was as though they are not able to send a statement unless you owe something. They finally agreed to send me a printout of my account. Also as a courtesy to them, I wanted to let them know I already switched to a new provider and would not be needing their services.

Let me know your experiences.

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More than just trash collection stinks in Gwinnett County

My interest and knowledge in the new plan for waste and recycling in Gwinnett has grown by leaps and bounds over the last month. My first post only touched on what really appears to be happening. I find it a bit amusing that Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful (GCB) was surprised ...

and is questioning the temporary injunction ordered by Judge Michael Clark yesterday. According to a document named SW_History.pdf, still available on their site, a similar ruling on July 16, 1990. This document states:

By the late 80’s, citizens and businesses were demanding even more convenient collection and recycling systems. The Gwinnett County Board of commissioners took action to meet these needs and updated the solid waste system.

In October, 1989 a new system was put into place. The new system:

* Required all residents to use a private hauler (some minor exceptions)

* Granted 7 year exclusive franchises vs. 1 year to private haulers

* Increased the monthly fees to $12.95/month, payable 3 months in advance with periodic price increases based on the Consumer Pricing Index

* Granted a $8.00/month fee to the disabled and senior citizens

* Provided for Gwinnett County to collect any unpaid fees thru a levy against serviced property

Some members of the private solid waste sector found this system unacceptable. On May 4, 1990, Independent Sanitation, an unauthorized solid waste hauling company, filed a lawsuit against the County to address their concerns.

On July 16, 1990, a judge in the Gwinnett County Superior Court ruled that the County’s 1989 solid waste ordinance was unconstitutional and void for the following reasons:
* No constitutional authority was given to the Board of Commissioners to take the action they did

* No bids were taken and this lessened the competition and encouraged a monopoly

* Citizen were required to use a designated hauler, not select a hauler of their choosing

* The County could not act as a debt collector for a private company

I guess they don't even read their own documents. Of course with all the uproar recently, the GCB site has removed many direct links to articles, like the one I quoted above. They are still there and as of today you can still find them using their own search function.

What adds to this case, and also makes it smell of corruption, is who the GCB is made up of. If you use that same search function and look for “advisory board” you will find many familiar names there. Many members of the board of directors are current county politicians, elected officials and sitting judges. Can you say conflict of interest? How could they not know this would be challenged? Is it any surprise why none of this was announced until 3 days after the election? Also, you should look at the amount of money involved. A portion of that monthly fee goes directly to GCB from the county. This portion alone is several millions of dollars. Then they want to collect fines as well as any revenue from recycling.

I say let's recall those responsible! A good site to keep up on this issue is www.trashgwinnett.com.

Let me know what you think in a comment.

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Superior Court Grants Stay of Execution for Small Businesses

In Gwinnett County this has been a very hot topic since the beginning of November. I briefly introduced my thoughts in a post about Gwinnett County Monopolizing a Utility. Last night this was put on hold.

In short, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners hired a private non-profit organization (Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful) to manage and enforce a new waste disposal plan for the county. Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful split the county in to 2 regions, and awarded each to two trash haulers headquartered in Florida, Waste Pro and Advanced Disposal Services. Payment for these services would be standardized at one fee and added to your property tax bill. They would also enforce recycling by levying a fine of $500 to those who did not recycle.

Two small independent haulers, Southern Sanitation and Sanitation Solutions, filed an injunction against this plan in Gwinnett Superior court stating it would put them out of business. They specifically sited two issues. The first one is the legality of a private non-profit organization doing the county's business by enforcing a solid waste plan. The second, was with the unfair bidding process setup by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful favoring large companies by requiring large bonds and fees.

Late yesterday, Judge Michael Clark of Gwinnett Superior Court granted a temporary injunction siding with the two smaller companies. Until full hearings are done to settle these issues, things will stay as they are.

The court stated that Gwinnett County did indeed delegate legislative authority to a private corporation by authorizing Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful to implement and enforce its waste plan. The court further stated that this was just unconstitutional. It stated the following about the new plan.

"As a matter of fact, the court finds that Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful Services has the right to set rates for residential customers, to regulate and set fees for commercial customers, to set rates for registration of new customers, to provide enforcement by a sworn deputy sheriff for violation of the ordinances and agreement, and to choose exclusive franchise providers and service areas," "The court finds that all of these are governmental and not merely administrative functions."

Gwinnett County Clean and Beautiful has responded by saying they are still reviewing the ruling and considering legal alternatives. Coincidentally, the services site for Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful today stated “closed until further notice.” This is a relief for many Gwinnett citizens and at least two smaller haulers.

Those are the facts as they stand now. As for me, I totally applaud the ruling of Judge Michael Clark. But, I also just look at it as a stepping stone. In my next post, I will explain why this should not be a surprise to Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful and how this whole deal smells of Corruption.

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A New Look!

Hi everyone. I know I haven't posted much lately, but I been a bit busy trying to make improvements. At least I think they are, and I hope you will agree. As you can tell, the site has change quite a bit. It is a modified version of a template provided by a site called Our Blogger Templates. Take a look around, I hope you will enjoy it. I still have some tweaks to do, but feel free to leave your comments. Especially if you have any questions.

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