Advanced Disposal Services Solid Waste Midwest

Review: I have been with this company for 7 years. Back in 2013 I called them to see if I could get a lower rate, the customer service lady, was very nice and worked with me. She lowered it to 40.00 dollars a month. She said it was only for a year though, in which I thought my contracted ended. Well, now in 2015 I called to see if I could get it lowered again, one lady stated that they can't do it, and if they did I would have to sign contract. Well, I didn't want too, because I was with this company for 7 yrs. And they keep jacking up the prices. Well, now in May 2015 I paid the past 3 bills, but they refused to come pick me up, in which I paid before pick up day, they said they can't pick me up til June. I'm just so tired of this company. It's okay if their customer service can break contract, but we can't without paying. So, as my phone call is being recorded Paula said I first I didn't have to pay anything to break contract, but then called back and said at first I owed over a 1000.00 because of contract break and fuel charges, well we settled for 800.00 some, just so I could be off the phone with her and be done with company. I don't believe I need to pay this amount, do that they first broke contract back in 2013 when the costumer service changed price with out signing contract. Unfortunately the worker doesn't work there anymore. Also, I paid before pick up day in May, but they still didn't pick me up.Desired Settlement: I would like the 800.00 dollars back, first Paula stated on recorded that I didn't have to pay, 2nd you guys didn't pick me up on scheduled day, 3 you changed contract with in 5 years.

Business

Response:

In response to the above complaint, we did verify that [redacted] signed a contract on 1/8/08 for 5 years. The contract doesn’t state guaranteed for 1 year, but we do that for most of our customers. There is an auto renew provision on our contracts which was not edited and states that renewals will take place for 5 years unless we receive a Certified Cancellations Letter 60 days before the renewal date. [redacted] was told this information on 2/28/13 and told the Customer Service Representative she talked to that she understood the instructions. We did not receive a Certified Letter, so her contract renewed until 1/18/2018. Her service issue was due to her payment history, her account became delinquent in December 2014. She was not able to make a payment on the December invoice until March 2015. Because her payments were slow coming in her account was suspended. The March 2015 invoice payment was not made until 5/13 and did not post to her account until 5/14, so the suspension was not removed in time for her scheduled pick-up on 5/14 and didn’t have truck in the area to be able to service her address. We were willing to schedule a pick-up when we were in the area next, but she wanted it that day. Her payment of $837 for early termination was correct. The reason she had two different amounts was due to the timing of each inquiry call to cancel her account. The first time she inquired about cancelling was in December of 2014, so the amount would be a lesser amount when she called in May 2015.

Consumer

Response:

My husband and I signed up for resident garbage service . charged $75 in advance for one month in advance service and fees. Told by company within 2-3 weeks we would have a garbage receptacle one month later we still have no garbage can and have not had our garbage picked up. First two weeks I had been home from surgery and I had to go outside to stop the drivers to give them our garbage and told them we are a paying customer and to pick up our garbage! Two weeks in a row our garbage has not been picked up. After I called Thursday morning from a missed pickup Wednesday they told me a garbage pickup would be arranged. Here it is Friday and our garbage is still sitting at the curb. I am very angry. Money has been tight and I at least expect service after forking over money up front! I shouldn't have to do their job for them!!

Review: To Whom it May Concern:Since the on-boarding of new vehicles in 2013, in which, the driver less frequently needs to get out of the vehicle because the vehicles now have an arm/claw, if you will, that automatically grabs the trash bin, my service went downhill. There was never a constant time in which the driver picked up trash. Some mornings he would pick up before 6 a.m. , some mornings 6:20 a.m., and most mornings he would pick up after 7 a.m.. My husband and I both leave for work at 6:45 a.m. so most times the trash was picked up after we had gone to work, and the trash bin was brought up to the house when we got home from work after 5 p.m.The issues started in November 2013 when the driver started leaving the trash can in the path of the mailbox. Because we live on a rural route our carrier is not allowed to exit the vehicle to get to the mailbox. When the mailbox was blocked we did not receive mail and mail would not be picked up. On several occasions I had mail in the box (bills) that was delayed. Mail was delivered on the next day with a note stating that the path to the mailbox was blocked. On several different occasions I called Advanced Disposal Horicon and explained what was going. Each time I was told the same thing that they would talk to the driver. The issue got worse and there were several times we came home to find the trash bin directly in front of the mailbox, when I called the next day, the customer service person would be rude and tell me the driver has no control of where the trash bin is placed. On several occasions I questioned them stating that if the truck picks it up in my driveway and isnt moving while picking up the trash bin, how would they explain that the trash bin was moved 5 feet directly in front of the mailbox? The times I asked for a supervisor, I would be told they were all busy. The day I cancelled my service was the only day that I was allowed to speak to a supervisor.On mornings in which he came between 6-6:20 we witnessed the driver releasing our trash bin in midair and watched it slam to the ground. The last straw was January 28th, 2014 when I came home to find the trash can broke and once again blocking the mailbox. On January 30th, 2014 I cancelled my service with Advanced Disposal Horicon.My current issue now is that I have made several calls to the office, and sent an email to Advanced Disposal requesting that they pick up their broken property that has been lying in driveway since the day their employee broke it and they are refusing to come and get it.My property is not a storage facility for Advanced Disposal. I have had no response from them as to when they are going to bother to pick up their property and I have no way to dispose of it. I find Advanced Disposals behavior very unprofessional. If I acted like this at my job, I would be unemployed!Desired Settlement: I want Advanced Disposal-Horicon to pick up their broken trash bin!

Business

Response:

Hello,

Today we have placed call to [redacted] at both her daytime and evening phone number in reference to the removal of the cart for her property as requested.

We have attempted two removals at her residence in the past week's but unfortunately the cart was not placed out to the road.

A supervisor also drove past her residence today and the cart is not outside to be removed.

Once our operations manager is able to speak with [redacted] and ensure a date/time the cart is out to road, it will be removed immediately.

We apologize for the confusion related to the removal.

Thanks...

Consumer

Response:

We rented a dumpster to be on our property a couple of years ago, from this company. Last January, we started having problems with the service. They did not empty our dumpster that month. I called and they stated they could not get up the tiny hill, where they placed the dumpster, due to ice and that they would be back. They did finally empty it, but that was the last time. I received an email in May, stating they could not empty our dumpster because of a gate at the end of our driveway being locked. I replied, stating there is just a chain they have to flip to open the gate, that it is NOT locked. I did not hear back from them after that. I tried to call a couple times, but because of working the night shift, I was unable to get ahold of them during working hours. I left them my cell phone # & never heard from them that way. There response to all of this has been to turn over our account to collections and they have still not emptied nor picked up the dumpster. I refused to pay a bill for a service that was never completed. They say they have GPS that lets them know where their trucks are, but our driveway is long, so they very easily could have stopped, been too lazy to open the gate and sat there and have it show up that they were there, yet our dumpster is overflowing! I went round and round with a manager, on the phone and she chose to believe their 'records' over my statements. Their records must be really great, since a check I sent in Dec 14 shows up in their system the end of Feb of this year!
I am very dissatisfied with their poor service and unwillingness to work with us. They must have some pretty lazy employees driving trucks if they cannot open a farm gate at the end of the driveway. Interestingly enough, the postal service has figured that out, as well as other delivery services and the electric meter reader!!
We also have yet to hear from any such collection service. No letters, phone calls, etc. Very frustrated that my credit has now been affected due to their lack of communication. They obviously don't believe in customer service. If someone were to be looking for this type of service, I would find ANYONE besides this company, as even their management does not know what they are doing.

Review: We contacted Advanced on 7/28 when our garbage service was not collected that morning. We didn't understand as it was always picked up weekly up until that day. My husband contacted Advanced to notify them that our service was not completed and to ask why or see if it was in error. We were told at that first call that they would look into it, give us a call back, and in the meantime send out a truck to pick up our garbage. We did not have anyone come out to pick up the garbage and no one contacted us back. My husband called again on 7/30 and was directed to the collections desk at a different number. He called that number and spoke to a gentleman who told him that in reviewing our account he could see that yes, at one point back in 2012 our account was in a "collections" status, but he showed that we had paid that sum in full as of our last payment to them on January 3rd, 2013. He said from what he saw everything was paid in full and we should be fine. He directed us back to the customer service line. He called and spoke to the same operator who said "could you hold on a minute" and a Supervisor came on the line. She told him that because the account had been in a collections status that our service was actually shut off in January of 2013 and that it "was not in their company policy to notify the customer". She referenced called they made to us when the balance was due, which we understood because we did pay off the balance that was owed to them. My husband is a contractor and the entire year of 2012 was a struggle for our family and we paid our bills as quickly as we could, but they DID GET PAID. The Supervisor told my husband that we had been receiving pick up service and not getting billed this entire time. My husband said, then bill us for it and I will happily pay for the service provided, but we need garbage service. The Supervisor told him that "it was company policy to NEVER offer service again to someone once a bill went to collections, regardless of if it was paid or not". My husband asked her what were we supposed to do for garbage service - A BASIC HUMAN NEED...NOT TO MENTION A HEALTH ISSUE, A COMMUNITY SERVICE....she told him and I QUOTE "that's not my problem sir, you'll have to figure that out."

I am shocked...there is not an alternate garbage pick up service that we can reach out to for our area. They are it. What exactly is a person supposed to do? We offered to pay the bill for the time that they continued to collect after apparently they "shut us off", we were frankly unaware that anything was not being billed....we get the bill, we pay it. Since 2013 we have been back on our feet so we would have paid what they sent to us. I mention again, we did pay the balance that was late back in 2012. She just repeatedly told him, nope this is our policy and you are not my problem. Yikes!Desired Settlement: We need our garbage service. We are asking to be reinstated for service. We take full ownership of the fact that our bill back in 2012 was late, but we called them to say "what is going on"...they never bothered to send us anything saying we had been turned off. In our mind, we paid the balance due and thought we were squared up with them. In the past couple of years service for our garbage has gone from Green Valley Disposal, who became Veolia, who became Advanced Disposal. I tell you this to help you understand why we thought we had things paid up...this service has changed hands multiple times.

Just give us the opportunity to use this service again. I think it's unfair and poor customer service. Please help...no one at customer service will. I implore you to reach out to [redacted] directly and ask him if this is how a customer should be treated and to also advise him to have his accounting team review their accounts. Who else is not getting billed that you will eventually "cut off" and leave in the gutter.

Thank you for your time.

The [redacted]

Business

Response:

We have made several attempts to collect a debt, after getting a 3rd party involved we did get the matter resolved and the account balance cleaned up. We did cancel service for none payment of the account. We have had conversation with [redacted] concerning her billing and her service. As we have explained we could re-start the service however the account would have to be set- up and paid 3 month in advanced in order to maintain the service. The [redacted]’s were not willing to pay up front for the service. We tried to explain that because this was the second time they were sent to a 3rd party collector that we could only re-start service with the fees paid in advanced. I can assure you that our collector nor our Customer service told the [redacted] ‘’ nope this is our policy and you are not my problem’’ . The [redacted] stated that we are the only hauler in the area and that they have to use us. This is not the case there are two other haulers that they may use. This area is not contractually bound to us as the sole provider.

Business

Response:

As far as we are aware both Waste Management and Rock Disposal are in your area. You may also contact your local City, Town or Village town hall. They should be able to give you the names and phone numbers of all the Haulers in your area. [redacted] also at one time had a dump site that many residents used, I am not sure if that is still open. You would again need to contact you local office where you pay your taxes to.As stated we are willing to re-set up your service however due to the payment history we do require payment up front per quarter. In response to you complaint about the falsehood of Advanced offering to re-start your service. Advanced did during the call with [redacted] explain that we would re-start service but he was unwilling to pay the 3 month up front requirement.

Consumer

Response:

Review: I was a customer of Advanced Disposal for 3 months. When I went to cancel their services I was advised by the person I canceled with that I had been overcharged when I started my account/disposal services with them. She told me at that time that it would take up to 3 weeks for my refund check to be processed and sent to me via mail. After 3 weeks I called Advanced Disposal to inquire about my refund check and was told then that it shouldn't be much longer and to expect my refund in about a week. After another 2 weeks I called back and was told that my refund hadn't been processed at all and was sitting there untouched. I explained I had already waited several weeks and that I was growing frustrated by their lack of courtesy to get me my refund. I was assured it would be processed promptly and that it would take up to 2 weeks to get it to me. I called after 2 weeks and am now told that it will take up to 30-45 working days to get my refund check to me and that "these things take time and it's very normal for a company to take longer than this to issue a refund." The refund is only $46.00 but to me it shouldn't matter. They have over charged me and they would not have discovered it had I not canceled my services. For them to take this long and give me a new excuse every time I call is ridiculous.Desired Settlement: Money that is owed to me due to them over charging me, interest from them taking so long. And for them to do it in a promptly manner.

Business

Response:

Hi, [redacted] was a customer of ours for 3 months that is correct but she was not overcharged. When we have a new customer start service with us it is company policy we ask for advance payment. She started June 17th which happens to be in the middle of our billing cycle. Her first bill was for June thru August service and then her next bill was for September thru December services. I am not sure where she got that she was overcharged? She cancelled on September 17th and we did put a refund thru. Our refunds normally are paid within 45 to 60 days but due to an error on our end the refund was misplaced but was paid out at a later date.

Please let me know if there is additional information that is needed.

Review: I contacted Advance 1 1/2 weeks prior to the bulk pick up for garbage and made arrangements for a stove to be picked up on 10/21. The stove was not picked up. Calls were made again to them on 10/22 and 10/23 and was told they were in the area and we were on their route each day and someone would be there in a half hour or so and the stove would be picked up. Never picked up. Contacted them at 10/26 and were advise it was too heavy for them to pick up and had made arrangements with another company to pick up. It is now 10/29 and stove still not picked up. Have contacted again and am just told they are doing the best they can. I just want the stove picked up and removed as Advance has had more than adequate time to make the arrangements for this to be done. As far as stove being too heavy, two people at the place where the new stove was purchased could pick it up so they should be able to handle this. Not pleased with this service as it has now been almost 3 weeks since they were advised this needed to be done. This is the business they engage in so they should have the adequate capabilities to handle this.Desired Settlement: I want the stove picked up and removed as they were to do and which is part of their agreement with the township I live in.

Business

Response:

I deeply apologize for the poor service you have received from Advanced Disposal. I have done some checking into your issue and again I apologize this has simply been an oversight on our part. We will be sending a driver to your place of residence by the end of the business day Friday, October 30th.

Consumer

Response:

The response was received stating the stove was to be picked up 10/30/15 by the end of business day. As of this morning it was still sitting by the road. I contacted them and was told it would be picked up today as they had discussed it in their meeting this morning. They claimed they could not see the stove as it was dark. The stove is at the end of the driveway right along the highway and is white. We have a yard light so it is lit up and can be seen easily. As of 3:45 p.m. the stove is still sitting in the same spot. The person at Advance also indicated there people did not see it. We had been told previously they were having another company pick up as their men "could not lift it" Now we are being a told a new story again. I was told it would definitely be picked up today. They also indicated there were several trucks out today picking up items. I am at a loss as to why this is so hard to be done.

Business

Response:

Again, I apologize for this inconvenience. It has been confirmed that your stove has been picked up as of Monday 11/02/15.If you have any further questions or concerns please feel free to reach our office directly; ###-###-####.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: In June 2015 I called Advanced at least 3 times and asked to get a new dumpster. I was always promised each time that it would be done in a week. They never brought a new one. I requested a new one because it was rusty and holes in the bottom so when it rained maggots would wash out of the bottom on to our parking lot. Also many times no one would come to empty the recycle dumpster so the garbage people would empty it into the garbage truck.Seems like a waste since we did recycle. During the month of July we did negotiations to sell our business. With all of the problems we were experiencing with Advance the new owners decided to use a different company for their disposal. We paid the July's bill when it came but the Advanced Co. did not empty the last week of July's garbage.The new company moved the dumpsters to the back of the lot. I called Advanced Disposal to have them removed.They sent a copy of a contract that I signed that says until 2018 I need to pay them even if I am no longer in business.As of this date September 25, they have not emptied the dumpsters of the last day of July's nor did they ever bring a new dumpsters. They billed me for August which I did not pay since they have not been servicing our business. I believe they have violated our contract and I should not owe them anything and they should pick up the old dumpsters.Desired Settlement: They should pick up the dumpsters and I should not owe them anymore money.

Business

Response:

I researched this account and talk with the sale’s representative. This customer did request a container swap in which it was request on June 26TH. We completed the swap as requested. We were not notified of the sale, until after the customer stop paying his invoices and was placed on stop service. Once we got in contact with the customer, they had said that they sold the business and the new owners did not want our service. At this time the customer was told that the service agreement we transferable to the new owners. They said “we will take of it and pay the liquated damages just remove the containers”. We did remove the containers however the customer still owes a balance of $313.10 on the account per out service agreement. Thank you

Consumer

Response:

On Thu, Oct 15, 2015 at 3:08 PM, [redacted] wrote:My complaint has been settled.