Allied Waste is a National Company that practices strong arm tactics liken to the mob in their execution and enforcement of service with current customers. Terms prescribed in their service agreements are totally unreasonable and anti consumer to the extent it is abusive and beyond practical obligation. All terms binding the company can change to the extreme without active consent of the consumer and contracts renew automatically for lengthy 3 year terms without active consent with extreme penalties for cancellation even when the initial term of the contract have been met. They have escalated prices 67% in a 3 yr period when the CPI has increased approximately 9% for the same period and are charging an exorbinant amount per customer for fuel recovery costs which is in reality another source of profit for the company. ($16 for once a week pickup of a single dumpster is excessive and if you took all costs being charged to consumers in the area (residential and commercial, the profit in the recovery charge will be significant and misrepresented in their costs on consumer bills)
In our particular case, weprovide garbage service for our residents in a small apartment building in Springfield, IL.in 2002 we signed an agreement for a 1.5 yd dumpster with once a week service with Capitol Waste Systems (now Allied Waste).in December we contacted them to change our service and secured a 4 yd dumpster for a set price and they sent us a new service agreement. We refused to sign the service agreement with their company siting the lenghth of service and many unfavorable clauses and their staff said they would provide the service without a signed agreement in Dec.in May we contacted Allied Waste to cancel service given they had increased prices 67% over 3 yrs and instituted exorbinate fuel recovery charges. They said we had a contract and could not cancel. We told them we did not sign their contract to which they were going to check and get back to us. They did not get back to us, left their dumpster in place and continued billing us although we already had a new provider. When contacted again they produced the old agreement for a different service and amount and were trying to collect $685 from us for damages and refused to remove their equipment from our property. They were threating and using intimidation to collect fees we do not owe. They said they would put us in collections and put liens on our property unless we paid them $685 We then told them we intended to contact the Attorney General and others to refute their charges and business practices to which they responded that they are a nationwide business with attorney's on retainer so it will cost them nothing to deal with us. After the equipment is blocking our other provider and taking up parking on our property we sent them a formal letter stating that they are to reomove their dumpster immediately that their priviledge to have it on our property had been revoked and they replied with a letter stating they will not remove the dumpster until we pay them $685. They also offered we can either pay them $685 to cancel or sign a new 3yr contract with them with a 37% price decrease and 4% cap on increases for 2 years and no fuel recovery charge for one year. I feel the practices are liken to extortion and the work of mobsters. They know the average person cannot afford to pay an attorney to prevent them from going to collections etc and will cave to their strong arm tactics and pay them and continue service. We are now having to pay an attorrneyto void a contract we never had and get them to quit using our property for storage of their equipment and trespassing on our property. We have heard similar horror stories from charitable and business organizations in town and know we are not alone in our treatment by this company and their staff. Companies should not be able to operate in this state with these types of unfair business practices. I feel sorry for all the other garbage disposal providers who are trying to do the right thing as Allied's strong armed tactics and acts of intimidation prevent fair competitition in their industry.
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