Recology overcharged me and refusing refund!

T

ThomasM

New Member
Jurisdiction
California
So I share a 64 Gallon blue recycle bin with two other apartments, lately due to the Pandemic all our bins were getting filled much quicker than usual since everyone's at home. This is understandable.
So I decided to get the 96 gallon recycling bin to alleviate the problem.
When I logged onto the Recology website and pulled up my account, I checked my bill to see what services I was paying for and what the 96 gallon would cost us per month extra. (I am on auto pay)
That is when I noticed we were already paying for a 96 gallon bin, being a little confused, I checked previous bills, going back over a year and low and behold we have being paying for a 96 gallon bin for several years now.
I contacted Recology, after a bit of back and forth due to the customer service rep being a little confused, I finally got a manager.
This is what they told me.
"Our standard company policy for billing disputes for residential accounts is one billing period."
(One billing period is three months, I've had the same size 64 gallon bin for more than 5 years)

So my question is, can they just keep several years of overcharges leaving me with no recourse.
 
cbg said:
And you take no responsibility whatsoever for not checking your account in over 5 years?
Click to expand...

Actually the 96 gallon and the 64 gallon side by side look remarkably similar. As the garbage man was swapping them out as a lay person I would not have noticed the difference. Its the same height but a tad wider.
Besides should that matter? I was over charged and I think its reasonable that I get a full refund, is that not fair?
 
ThomasM said:
can they just keep several years of overcharges leaving me with no recourse.
Click to expand...

Can it keep the "overcharges"? Yes. However, that doesn't mean you are "with no recourse." You can sue. I doubt you'd win, but you can sue. The problem is that you knew (or should have known) what you were being charged for and knew (or should have known) that you were being charged for something you didn't receive, but you didn't do anything about it. I expect that, if you make a big enough stink about it, you might get the company to agree to more than one billing period.

ThomasM said:
Actually the 96 gallon and the 64 gallon side by side look remarkably similar.
Click to expand...

I would imagine that they look virtually identical -- except that one is 50% bigger than the other.​
 
Last edited:
ThomasM said:
So my question is, can they just keep several years of overcharges leaving me with no recourse.
Click to expand...

It appears that you answered your own question as indicated directly below \/\/\/.

ThomasM said:
This is what they told me.
"Our standard company policy for billing disputes for residential accounts is one billing period."
(One billing period is three months, I've had the same size 64 gallon bin for more than 5 years)
Click to expand...

Below you will see that the one of entity's managers stated: \/\/\/\/

ThomasM said:
This is what they told me.
"Our standard company policy for billing disputes for residential accounts is one billing period."
(One billing period is three months, I've had the same size 64 gallon bin for more than 5 years)
Click to expand...


If you are dissatisfied with the above ^^^^ response, you are free to send a written letter to one of the company's "C" level executives (as in CEO, CFO, etc...)

Who are the Executives of Recology:

Our History & Team - Recology

You can contact Calrecyle as they regulate garbage and recyclers in your state to see if they can help:

CalRecycle Home Page

Your other option would be your elected, local government (as in Mayor, city council, county rep, etc...)

Your other option would be to bring a lawsuit in small claims court.

You'll have to bring it within the statute of limitations period for your particular case.

For example, the California statute of limitations is two years for oral contracts, four years for written contracts, two years for personal injury matters, and three years for personal property damage cases.

You allege that you have been overcharged for five years, you can only sue to recover four years of damages, IF the matter is covered by contract.

ThomasM said:
Actually the 96 gallon and the 64 gallon side by side look remarkably similar.
Click to expand...

According to Recology, 64 vs 96 gal containers

recology.JPG
 
Last edited:
So in five years, you never once looked to see what you were paying for, never checked to make sure the charges were correct, never looked to confirm that payments were going through smoothly, never confirmed that the folks you were sharing it with were on track, never even updated the bank account or credit card that was being used, and it's someone else's fault that you were overcharged?

You never even looked the first month, that would have told you right from the beginning? It was all everyone else's responsibility to see that the things you are using are being handled correctly?
 
cbg said:
You never even looked the first month, that would have told you right from the beginning? It was all everyone else's responsibility to see that the things you are using are being handled correctly?
Click to expand...

LOL, personal responsibility doesn't seem to be a thing anymore.
 
PayrollHRGuy said:
LOL, personal responsibility doesn't seem to be a thing anymore.
Click to expand...
That door swings both ways. But thanks for your opinion.

Zigner said:
It doesn't matter if they "look remarkably similar". You knew that you had a 64 gallon can.
Click to expand...
Yeah I know that, because I said that, but I did not know I was paying for a 96 Gallon.
Thanks for the input

army judge said:
View attachment 2837
Click to expand...
Thank you for your excellent suggestions, but in regards to the sizing chart, that says there is approx 3.5 inches in difference, as the guy wheeled it out this morning, you can barely notice the size change, yes it is bigger, but not by much. As I said its similar in size and the Manager at Recology agreed with me on that. Capacity is 32 gallons bigger though.

S0 got off the phone with a recology manager and they said an error was made when they increased the size of recycling bins 2016/17. (yes I know not quite 5 years) Residential homes got an increase from 32 gallon to 64 gallon, we were already on the 64 gallon because three units use same bin so we should have received the 96 gallon, according to them.
Our bin was not changed out but they still charged us as if it were.
I would also like to point out that neither the other two apartments nor the landlord noticed the change.
I think the fact that our neighbors next door (not our building) have the same 64 gallon but also should have the 96 gallon. I just informed them and they never noticed either.
You should all also be aware, Recology does NOT send paper bills to each unit if you are signed up for E-Bill service via AutoPay. They did send out a notice of change in sizes when bin changes happened back then as a Post Card.
I had no reason to check all this until the Pandemic, because our bins were never overly full.

Anyway looks like we are getting a full refund, I think when I mentioned over the phone that my neighbors (again different building) have the same size bins and they also did not know they were paying for a 96 gallon, the lady quickly shifted gears and is expediting the refund, strange that.

Anyway thanks for all your input.
 

Share this page

Get a free case review from a lawyer
Back
Top