What is good about HBC - Page 2

WillowTheWhisp · 02-09-2004, 21:04

Good intentions but little action. Like the Project Phoenix.

Busman747 · 02-09-2004, 21:18

Well. I tried to be generous towards the HBC, No golden clogs for them!

Acrylic-bob · 03-09-2004, 08:13

Well, hey, at least you made the effort, and that counts for a lot.

yerself · 03-09-2004, 14:09

How about The Order of the Boot.

I recently had a new bed delivered and was advised to contact HBC to arrange removal of the old one. I phoned the cleansing dept. on a Monday morning and was asked if the bed was available for immediate collection, I explained it wasn't but would be as from noon on Wednesday. "Oh, we can't arrange for collection without the goods being available, If I put it into the system and a job card was issued tomorrow morning and the bed wasn't there my boss would not be too pleased. You'll have to ring back on Wednesday." said the obviously Oxbridge educated young lady on the phone.
I phoned again on Wednesday to ask for removal of bed. "Yes, that's fine, someone will be out within 2 weeks. You will have to leave your gate unlocked so we have access to collect it. I'm sorry I can't tell you an exact time and date, just within 2 weeks."
They couldn't run a bath!

WillowTheWhisp · 03-09-2004, 14:29

I can go one better than that.

Last year whilst we were on holiday someone vandalised my shed. The thing had to be demolished and disposed of along with most of the contents.

I piled a load of broken things from the shed in the backyard and phoned the council to ask for their removal. They asked me what was in the pile. I told them a load of broken things from inside a semi demolished shed. I had even cordoned off that area behind a yellow rope (although a large pile of rubbish is quite easily distinguishable from things such as patio pots containing lavender bushes and trees) However they still insisted that I itemise the lot. They were not even willing to accept such generalised terms like "pieces of wood" - they wanted to know how many pieces and approximate sizes! I went through all that and made a huge long list which I then read out to them over the phone. They then suggested that I label the pile "rubbish for collection" ! I did so. After a week or three the pile was eventually removed.

Then came the demolishing of the remains of the shed. This we duly piled up and I phoned the council yet again. This time however they were far too busy to collect anything at any time and asked if I could deliver it to the tip.

We piled most of it onto trailer and off up to Whinney Hill - where we were greated with "What's all that then? You can't bring that much rubbish here! It's industrial that is" I told them it was the remains of an ordinary garden shed and couldn't remotely be classed as industrial - they weren't impressed. When I informed them that we had another load plus an old washing machine and muttered something about the alternative being flytipping and no wonder why people did it, that didn't go down too well either!

We were permitted to take the second load but they also took down a lot of details about who we were and where we had come from with our rubbish.

Recently took an old fridge which had stopped working and been replaced by a new one and that required "details" to be taken!!

It doesn't really encourage people to be responsible with their rubbish does it?

pendy · 03-09-2004, 15:39

When we bought our house, the people who had had it before left a pile of rubbish in the backyard, and I mean rubbish. We took out the old fridge/freezer (we tried to sell it to ICI because of all the genetic modifications that were growing in it, but they didn't seem to be interested). Ditto one bugg***d washing machine, plus my nephew's old fridge from next door.

Well, we tried. They don't take fridges. They can't do this or that (I didn't ask about the other, I thought with the general lack of knowing a**e from elbow, it wasn't wise).
We could have it taken away (well, some of it) but had to guarantee being there every day for at least a fortnight (my boss in London was not too keen on this).

Eventually we rang a private firm, they came along, took the lot, cleaned the backyard, frightened off the rats, had a brew - yes, they charged us, but they came when they said they would (within a day), they did a fantastic job, and didn't charge us that much. Anyone want the number ...?

Ceejache · 03-09-2004, 15:50

Ditto my experience - old boiler and knackered wardrobe - couldn't say when they were going to come and collect but they would come in the next fortnight and could I leave the backyard door open to give potential opportunistic thieves an inviting entrance onto my property. I declined but as luck would have it a couple of 'tinkers' were collecting a washing machine from next door and whilst loading it onto the van noticed the boiler and asked if they could take it!

pendy · 03-09-2004, 16:01

Yeah, know exactly what you mean. We have brilliant neighbours in Ossy, Keith across the road comes in every few days to check everything is allright, but sometimes we are not there for up to a month, and I am not prepared to leave the back gate open for anyone to wander in and kick the back door in. Of course, I suppose if you are a career councillor (do we have those in Hyndburn? we certainly do in London, I'm not sure Ken Livingstone has done a day's work in his life) you can be at home most of the time, so the problem does not arise. However, for those of us who have the boring necessity of earning a living ...

yerself · 03-09-2004, 16:29

They said they couldn't see the problem with leaving the gate unlocked, it wasn't as if they were asking me to leave my house insecure. I said I'd leave the bed and mattress on the back street where they could collect them anytime. "Oh no." was the reply "It's an offence to leave rubbish on a back street. You could be prosecuted."
There must be an awful lot of people awaiting prosecution in Accrington.

Ceejache · 03-09-2004, 16:33

Anyone else in the Peel/Barnfield ward notice that the bin collection was a day late this week - today (Friday) instead of Thursday? (Unless I have totally taken leave of my senses and it has always been Fridays!) It turned out OK for me as I forgot to put my bins out on Weds night/Thurs morning! Surely though, allowing vast amounts of rotting leftovers and the like to fester for a day or so in this heat is asking for visits from our rodent friends?

Soory to go off thread AB but this thread seems to be active and I didn't want to create a new thread for the sake of it.

pendy · 03-09-2004, 16:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by yerself

They said they couldn't see the problem with leaving the gate unlocked, it wasn't as if they were asking me to leave my house insecure. I said I'd leave the bed and mattress on the back street where they could collect them anytime. "Oh no." was the reply "It's an offence to leave rubbish on a back street. You could be prosecuted."
There must be an awful lot of people awaiting prosecution in Accrington.

Again, yeah well - it isn't their back gate that's being left unlocked. Backyards are well protected by walls, so anybody could get in, break a window, kick in a door, and if nobody heard, then they're in your house. All the time in the world to do what they like. Gone, sadly, are the days when you could spend all day, and even sleep, with your door unlocked. Like I say, we are very lucky, our bit of Ossy is quiet with great neighbours, but even great neighbours aren't there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You've got to be bl**dy careful these days.

As to a lot of people awaiting prosecution, unfortunately it is those law abiding citizens who feel compelled to leave their rubbish, unwanted items, for collection on the back street - rarely the toerags who are into breaking, entering and destroying - they probably all get holidays in the Bahamas, as being socially deprived! (OOPS - my prejudices are showing!)

yerself · 03-09-2004, 16:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by pendy

As to a lot of people awaiting prosecution, unfortunately it is those law abiding citizens who feel compelled to leave their rubbish, unwanted items, for collection on the back street

That's what I was getting at Pendy. As to Acrylic-Bob's original question:

What is good about HBC?

I think the general consensus seems to be a resounding........ Nothing

WillowTheWhisp · 03-09-2004, 17:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ceejache

Anyone else in the Peel/Barnfield ward notice that the bin collection was a day late this week - today (Friday) instead of Thursday? (Unless I have totally taken leave of my senses and it has always been Fridays!) It turned out OK for me as I forgot to put my bins out on Weds night/Thurs morning! Surely though, allowing vast amounts of rotting leftovers and the like to fester for a day or so in this heat is asking for visits from our rodent friends?

It's due to the fact that Monday was a Bank holiday and they didn't empty any bins so all week they were a day behind. Ours are usually emptied Wednesday but this week it was Thursday. But what happened to the ones they usually empty on Fridays I have no idea!

There must be something good about HBC!

Ceejache · 03-09-2004, 18:35

Of course Willow.....didn't think of that. Looks like incompetance of thinking isn't just confined to HBC!

janet · 04-09-2004, 10:27

My bin was emptied this morning willow instead of Friday.