Legally you must check that anyone employed by you for waste disposal is licenced by the Environment Agency. Although this has been the case for some time it is still not well known and people are being prosecuted as a result. With a fine of up to £5000 for the householder it is worth checking. With more and more checks being carried out is it worth the risk?
Letting your rubbish end up like this could cost you dearly!
Social
media is fast becoming an alternative to the old Yellow Pages. People use it
for recommendations every minute.
There are regularly requests for somebody to do a tip run or for other types of waste disposal and any number of names are put forwards. The problems start when someone just picks a person at random without doing any type of check. Remember there is a potential £5000 sting in the tail!
Fly-tipping is the illegal disposal of household, industrial, commercial or other ‘controlled’ waste without a waste management licence. The waste can be liquid or solid and controlled waste includes garden refuse and larger domestic items such as fridges and mattresses.
1. Firstly ask them for their waste carriers licence number. We recommend that you do this before you give them your address. If they don’t know their number or don’t have it to hand then be very suspicious, it has to be on all paperwork, both theirs and the paperwork at the disposal site end so you very quickly get to know it. Also be wary if it has just been applied for and they are waiting for it to come through in the post. It is an electronic document and is issued as soon as it has been paid for.
2. Next you should check that it is actually theirs by going to the Environment Agency website. It must also be an Upper Tier licence as it is classed as trade waste. Here is a link directly to it.
3. If it all checks out then the last item is a Waste Transfer Note. This must issued at the time that they take away your rubbish. This is your proof that it has been taken away by a licenced trader and if it ends up being fly tipped you can prove who took it.
The cheapest way to dispose of rubbish is to take it to a recycling site yourself. If you can’t for whatever reason then make sure that you don’t end up in a right old mess!
In the eyes of the law “ignorance is not an excuse” so please make sure that you check.
If you would like to discuss waste disposal further please drop us a line here or call us on 07470 503760.
When the time comes to move there is always the question of what to do with your books, people tend to fall into 3 categories when it comes to books.
There are various methods used including:
Load up and disappear – the van gets loaded up and then drives away, with all your items, never to be seen again.
Our van is too small – they start loading then notify you that their van cannot carry all your possessions, they then say that you will need to pay more to come back and get the rest. Alternatively, they load all the valuable items first, then drive off and do not return.
Extra charges – they call you up a day or two before moving day and try to charge more, as they are really busy and will call off the move if you don’t. This leaves you in a position where you either pay extra or try to find someone else, which may be difficult at short notice. Given the stress that you are likely to be experiencing at this time you may decide just to pay up.
Hostage – This is really a variation on the load up and disappear scam, except they don’t totally disappear, instead they contact you to allow you to buy your own items back. As some of your boxes are likely to contain personal items that cannot be replaced, such as family photos, they cannot sell them, so they try to blackmail you, the customer.