Tel:0161 766 3330
Open Mon-Fri 9.30am-3.30pm
Any keen Lego builder or any parents out there will have felt this pain more times then they care to think of or want to talk about. The pain of standing on Lego.
For our readers who have never experienced this, picture stepping on a plug, now picture stepping on a 100 mini plugs that find its way under your toes and every other bit of foot you didn't know existed...that is Lego.
Seemingly harmless at full glance, but step on one and you will be carrying some physical bruises.
Much like those tiny plastic torture devices, waste management contracts have a knack for surprising you with unexpected twists and turns, leaving you nursing your financial bruises.
Some waste management companies will include unwanted fees, charges, long-term commitments into their contracts or even promise of better service that doesn't arrive! Think of all these little extra charges, fees, promises, commitments all like tiny pieces of Lego and unfortunately your business is the unsuspecting foot!
Fear not, as always we do have some top tips to keeping your business pain free and stopping you being dragged into a contract worse then Britney Spears first record deal.
Before you agree to get on board with any waste management service, you need to make sure that you are getting exactly what you signed up for and that there are no hidden surprises waiting around the corner.
They always seem straight forward and easy enough to understand but once you have signed on the dotted line, they get more complicated then having to untangle your Xmas tree lights / re watching Inception 20 times.
Here are 8 reasons why waste management contracts can be painful:
Lack of Transparency: Have you ever read something filled with a load of jargon and business buzzwords, or something that just doesn't make sense? Legal documents often have a way of sounding as if Shakespeare himself had wrote it. 'Thou will vow not to cease the agreement within 2 calendar month lighting's of the moon.' Waste management contracts can sometimes be complex and difficult to understand which leads to confusion. Keep an eye out for this and always confirm with the waste company of any doubts you have before signing.
One-Sided Agreements: It is just the same as winning an argument with your other half, it isn't going to happen! Typically, most waste management companies will have contracts that favour themselves. For example, they may place in the contract that they aren't liable for any damage that occurs on your business property when collecting your waste, this means that if anything happened it would be your responsibility to front the costs, which isn't fair at all.
Hidden Fees and Costs: Some waste management contracts are notorious for concealing a treasure trove of hidden fees, charges and costs within their contracts. From environmental charges, fuel fees that change with blow of the wind to the Bin wasn't available to be emptied fees. Nobody wants to be unwrapping these gifts!
Long-Term Commitments: Nowadays these contracts can be longer then a modern-day marriage. My mates only lasted 2 months (Sorry Matthew). Waste companies like to act like they put longer contracts in place so that they are helping the business owner relax knowing that no changes will happen over the next 4 years, but, we all know it is the complete opposite. Businesses change month to month and if there is little to no flexibility to adjust the terms of the contract or cancel without hefty penalties then this isn't a fair contract.
Inadequate Services: You have signed the contract, the waste is out, the collection day arrives and guess what...they don't turn up, and trying to reach a live human being for customer support can feel like embarking on perilous journey. Some companies will promise to deliver the world in the hopes of getting you to sign on the dotted line, and as soon as the ink has dried, they toss you off to the world of terrible service. They know they have you tied in now, so they would rather you pay a hefty cancellation fee then actually produce the service that they promised.
Renewal and Termination Conditions: To us, this is one of the sneakiest and dodgy ways to go about the business of keeping you using their service. Automatic renewals are the bane of many waste management contracts. Before you know it, you're locked into another round of confusing terms, often without a clear way out. They all claim to let you know when your renewal date is up, but they never remind you, so they hang their hope on you not remembering when the renewal date is, so that it automatically renews and there you are...stuck for another 2 years! Always set renewal reminders on your calendar, diary or phone!
Quality of Service: Always make sure to read company reviews so that you can deem what is a quality business with quality service. What we mean by this, is that sometimes companies service quality will get worse and worse over time, this could be due to the business growing, so less of a care about the customers, or that they have recently been took over and the new owners only care about profits. As long as you read reviews from a number of different websites and confirm that it is a reputable business, then you will be fine.
Lack of Customisation: Just like in life, business changes day by day, month to month. So, we are great believers that contracts should be able to be changed and amended too. You can find that some waste disposal services and other businesses will look to greatly oversell their product to you. For example: They will recommend you needing 4 bins and having them collected every week. Then you realise you are only really filling 2 bins and definitely not weekly. You ring up to change the contract but unfortunately, they mention that as you are in a contract this cannot be amended until your renewal date, which you guessed it, is in 3 years! Contracts that do not take into account the specific needs of the client can be seen as unfair.
Make sure to always look out for these in any contract not just waste management contracts!
No Hidden Fees - No Fuel Fees, Environment Fees, Tree shading the bin too much fees or Sun shining too much in drivers eyes fees. The fees that you are quoted when you sign up with us are the fees that you will pay. No additional, hidden, nasty fees will ever be added to our contract.
More Flexible - Businesses change month to month. So why can't your contract change with it? We know the importance of change and the added stresses that can come from this. This is why we allow 1 pause during your contract so that you can change the number of bins or frequency of collection. No more begging the waste collection company to just take 2 bins away, as you don't need them anymore and therefore don't want the added financial stress of paying for it.
Initial 12 Months with 3 Months Notice then to Cancel (No Automatic Renewal) - We won't tie you down to a contract for 8 years like Chelsea FC and 0, yes ZERO automatic renewals. We don't want to be the business lurking in the shadows waiting for your automatic renewal date to come. We want you to renew your contract with us because you rate our service and value.
We provide a quality management of waste as per our reviews so you will be getting what you pay for - As we love to mention a lot...we take a lot of pride in our service and how we treat our customers, and this is why we are so proud to have received over 1000 5* online reviews. You can feast your eyes on them here:
Our Verified Reviews on Reviews.co.uk
We will be offering a Pay as You Go Service soon too - We already offer this for our Household/Residential customers, so we have always wanted to look at offering it for businesses too. Just imagine instead of being tied in to 2/3/4 year nasty contracts with a bundle of hidden fees, you can just pop onto our website or give us a call and order a one off collection with no ties whatsoever.
So, what have we learned?
We have learnt that hidden fees can pop up from the depths like Lego bricks or that the complicated lingo used can leave you as confused as building the Lego Millennium Falcon. Sometimes these agreements and contracts can feel like navigating a flurry of Lego landmines placed around your floor, but as long as you ask questions, understand the terms and look out for the nasty fees and changes that could hurt your business, you will be gliding over these metaphorical business bricks with confidence and vigour.
Until next time.
To read our privacy policy CLICK HERE
