North Springfield Residents Think Their Trash Service is Garbage
By
KSPR News
By
Joanna Small
Story Created:
Jul 10, 2008
Story Updated:
Jul 10, 2008
There's been a lot of trash-talk in one north Springfield neighborhood.
Two residents there say they haven't had trash service in three and half weeks.
This situation really stinks- on more than one level.
WCA is the company in question here.
Two residents on North Delaware Street say in the middle of June, it just stopped coming around to collect their trash.
Since then, both women have made numerous calls to WCA with no results, until they called the KSPR problem-solvers.
"Animals get into it, it gets torn up, we have to come pick it up and put it away in the morning. It's pretty disgusting. It smells awful coming into the house."
But these neighbors say the real stench is coming from bad business.
Rennie Auiler and Marcia Lindsay say their garbage hasn't been collected in a whopping three and a half weeks.
“I gave them a week of grace because sometimes they miss us by a couple of days,” Rennie explains.
And Marcia did the same, but after that week of no service, both women began calling WCA, the company that's been picking up their trash without incident for years.
“I called and they said give us until Tuesday at 6p.m., and I did and nobody came,” Rennie says.
Similar calls by Rennie and Marcia Wednesday produced similar results.
Both pre-paid through the month of June, but both now want their money back, along with some answers.
WCA would not go on camera but they did blame a new driver for the problem.
They claim he came a little earlier than usual and the cans weren't at the curb.
They also say he returned numerous times over the next three and half weeks, and the cans were never there.
Rennie and Marcia don't believe the truck ever came down their cul-de-sac.
“If they had come by it would have been sitting here waiting for them,” says Marcia.
Like it was Thursday, when WCA finally emptied their bins- after a call from KSPR.
Rennie cancelled her service, and Marcia called again and requested a refund.
“I’ve called Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and now I'm calling back today,” explains Marcia.
It’s a last-ditch effort to ensure there's no reason for more trash-talk.
The general manager of WCA’s Springfield division says Rennie will get a refund.
After Marcia called Thursday, she was promised a credit of about $10 on her next bill.
; "Click for StormVision Doppler Radar")
Tuesday, Jul 15 at 2:34 PM Rennie wrote ...
Anonymous: Good riddance, all right - to WCA! If they had dealt with the situation honestly instead of being rude to me and my neighbor, we wouldn't have called KSPR in an effort to get things resolved. But it didn't turn out that way, & I switched to a trash service who is more than happy to get my business. My money is just as good as anyone else's & I deserve, as their customer, to be treated with respect. I didn't get it with WCA so I switched to another service. Their bad.
Tuesday, Jul 15 at 10:52 AM Anonymous wrote ...
GOOD RIDDENCE. I HOPE IT WORKS OUT FOR YOU. JUST HOPE YOU GOT THEM TO GUARANTEE THAT RATE FOR A YEAR WITHOUT FUEL INCREASES.
Monday, Jul 14 at 3:24 PM Anonymous wrote ...
I can appreciate that but all the trash companies have problems. I know that for a fact, the type may vary on the company. We as consumers need to ask more questions and be better informed was my only real point. They have to have guidelines for all situations. BTW, my trash has sat before. I called after noon the day after my pickup instead of before. I understood where they were coming from. I had to wait. Ask more questions is all I'm saying. They can't please us all.
Monday, Jul 14 at 9:41 AM Rennie wrote ...
I just got off the phone with a LOCALLY OWNED trash service. I talked to a REAL LIVE PERSON who WASN'T rude or condescending. They knew who I was (they watched the news!) and were MORE THAN HAPPY to receive my business. Their rates are way cheaper than WCA, PLUS I got 3 months FREE service! I'm telling my neighbor about this company! ;) Thank you, KSPR33, for helping us out!
Sunday, Jul 13 at 10:38 PM Luann wrote ...
Okay, some of you may be receiving terrific trash service from WCA so it's legit that you would want to jump in to defend them, but you don't seem to understand. This is a problem that has been going on SINCE the ice storm and if it's STILL happening to more people here in July, it's not an isolated incident. So you can rest assured, Mark, WCA did INDEED know there was a problem going on with their service to some customers whether Rennie waited 3 weeks or not to call. No more excuses please.
Saturday, Jul 12 at 9:06 PM Rennie wrote ...
Robert: If you watched the news report, it said my neighbor & I gave them a "week of grace". Believe it or not, we DO have lives and they don't include "trash truck watching". The 2nd week, I was ill. I hauled my trash bin to the curb Monday night & crawled back into bed. By the third week (this past Monday), I felt a lot better & noticed my trash bin, which had been sitting on the curb all this time, was STILL full. That's when I called WCA & asked them to pick up my trash.
Saturday, Jul 12 at 8:50 PM Rennie wrote ...
Jack...read the article. WCA stopped picking up my trash in MID-JUNE -- service I'd ALREADY PAID FOR! I JUST got the bill for July-September. What is wrong with expecting WCA to fulfill their end of the bargain? I prepay for my service, they come and pick up my trash. It sounds like a no-brainer to me.
Saturday, Jul 12 at 7:44 AM Robert wrote ...
I cannot believe anyone would wait three weeks to call. Thats ludicrous! Mark has done a great job informing us of questions we all should have asked WCA along time ago. I'd say we are all partially responsible in our own way. I suggest all of you take up a hobby that doesn't include trash watching every day? Anyone need a job? Kelly Services is a great resource.
Saturday, Jul 12 at 7:40 AM Jack wrote ...
April through June. I can understand Rennie, any issues prior to June 30 but by your own admission you've paid no service in July. Why now? Your complaint may be valid through June but I'm sure they took some of your July trash for free as well. I'd say they more than made up to you for it. Especially if they refunded you and backdated your cancellation of services. Just be warned refunds from WCA take 8 to 10 weeks to receive. I know from experience.
Saturday, Jul 12 at 7:34 AM Mark wrote ...
Also, they were right, the drivers did remove double trash for everyone the following week and Allied did the same thing they did. Another thing, for someone to squeal this big now, you shouldn't have waited three weeks to call them, then pitch a fit. They can only fix what they know is broken. They aren't psychic in that office. Hopefully this story will teach people to ask more questions in the future so they are fully informed.
Saturday, Jul 12 at 7:30 AM Mark wrote ...
Further more, the ice storm people? We're saddling dead horses. I wasn't thrilled about it but once I discovered their building had been hit by lightening and they didn't have phones that worked correctly until the first week of march, I understood that. I work in tech support. Phone servers are a nightmare. I also understand that they tried to run that week and rolled a truck, severely injuring their drivers. I was relieved their trucks wouldn't be popping a curb and smashing my kids playing.
Saturday, Jul 12 at 7:26 AM Mark wrote ...
I called WCA in February and they were honest. Anyone knows that Per DOT Regulations, you cant run a truck for more than twelve hours for more than five consecutive days a week. Some of the trash companies were closed without power from the saturday through thursday the week of the ice storm. Now taking into consideration the federally mandated laws mentioned above, how do you suggest trash companies make up for sixty thousand customers except to run two weeks worth the following week.
Friday, Jul 11 at 10:28 PM Rennie wrote ...
To Jonathan: Joanna Small and the cameraman looked at our bills and saw we'd paid up from April 1st-June 30th. Don't blame us for WCA's failure. To Kelley: Credibility wasn't the problem. WCA not picking up our trash was the problem. To Mark: it's not a matter of "getting over ourselves." It's a matter of paying for trash service and then expecting that service to be rendered. If it had been YOUR trash sitting there for 3 1/2 weeks, would it be "just trash" to you? Nah. Get over it. ;o)
Friday, Jul 11 at 6:52 PM Luann wrote ...
My parents were among the list of long-time customers of this company, and like many others, were without complaint until their trash pick up stopped back in February. I believe so much of this negative publicity would have never come to light if WCA would have just been honest and upfront with their customers from the beginning instead of avoiding their phone calls, emails, and making up excuses to buy more time. In this instance, WCA has handled a situation poorly and now they're paying for it
Friday, Jul 11 at 4:15 PM bETTIE wrote ...
dURING THE ICE STORM OUR TRASH WAS NOT PICKED UP FOR 2 WEEKS. I FULLY UNDERSTOOD THIS, BUT LATER OUR TRASH WAS NOT PICKED UP. I CALLED AND COULD NEVER TALK TO A PERSON SO I DROPPED THEIR SERVICE AND MY NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR HAD SAME PROBLEMS SO SHE DROPPED THEM ALSO. THIS WAS BACK IN FEBRUARY AND FINALLY IN JULY I JUST GOT AN APOLOGY FROM WCA. WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG TO GET AN APOLOGY FOR VERY POOR SERVICE EVEN AFTER I CANCELED MY SERVICE. I EVEN GOT A MUCH BETTER DEAL NOW AS I GOT 3 MONTHS FRE
Friday, Jul 11 at 3:33 PM Ellen wrote ...
Where are the positives.... I have had service with them and I live on the northside.... we have had no problems with them....I live not many blocks from Delaware where this happened... please if you are only posting the negatives...you need to look at the whole picture... not everything is bad... that goes for any company, where trash or not.... just be fair.....post all the comments.....
Friday, Jul 11 at 11:21 AM Kelley wrote ...
Wait a minute! Paid through June? This is july? Aren't these ladies complaining about services they aren't paying for? hmmm. Credibility might be an issue here.
Friday, Jul 11 at 11:19 AM Jonathan wrote ...
I've never had a problem. They've answered my questions and always been nice. The only people I know of that have ever had problems are people who don't make demands that are not within the specified rules the company has laid out or are just bad paying customers. It seems those situations seem to be more trouble than others. Did anyone ask these ladies about their payment histories?
Friday, Jul 11 at 10:40 AM mary wrote ...
I was with WCA for several years, this pass December I went with out trash pick-up for over 3 weeks, I am sure my neighbors loved that...When they finally picked it up on the 4th week, I called and cancelled my service, and had already called another company for service. When I called there all I could ever talk to, was a lady that was really rude, I never got a refund on my service, that was paid for and didnt get, and the turned me over for collection for not paying the next quarter, nice job
Friday, Jul 11 at 9:49 AM JACOB wrote ...
I know of about three or four of my co workers who left positive words on here for WCA and they've not been posted? Is it KSPR's policy to only publish negative comments about the subject of their articles? Are the loyal customers not allowed to voice their opinions as well?
Friday, Jul 11 at 9:25 AM Michael wrote ...
I had nothing but problems after WCA bought another company in town I was with. I have since switched comapnies again to a locally owned comapny and they are great. WCA is too out of touch. Never received a callback from a manager as promised and even left voicemails. Only when I threatened to go to the AG's office did they do something.
Friday, Jul 11 at 8:43 AM Mark wrote ...
The issue that people don't realize is that there are guidelines in place. The drivers run 6 am to 6 pm and if not removed on my scheduled day, I know to call by noon the next day. Its not a hard concept, I and everyone in my neighborhood understand that its just trash. Not the end of the world. There are guidelines in place for a reason and as consumers its our responsibility to meet them in the middle. Its possible that some people just need to get over themselves.
Friday, Jul 11 at 3:33 AM Kathy wrote ...
I had a similar problem with WCA about 6 months ago. They bill out of a different office than the one in Springfield and appear to be very unorganized. I work on the south end of town and that business also uses WCA. That trash gets "missed" quite often also.
Thursday, Jul 10 at 10:58 PM Melissa wrote ...
I know for a fact that their trash has been sitting out by the curb so that reason does not wash. Summer is not the time of year for such things to be neglected like that by a well known company.
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