Man wins five month stand-off council over fee for bin damaged by refuse workers

15 October 2023 , 20:48

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CCTV footage showed the bin men picking up an intact bin from Tim Spencer’s drive and returning it without a lid (Image: Tim Spencer / SWNS)

A man has emerged victorious after a five-month tussle with his council over a bin damaged by rubbish collectors.

CCTV footage showed binmen returning Tim Spencer's wheelie bin without a lid in May, but Maidstone Borough Council refused to send him a free replacement. They said he would have to fork out £25 to replace it himself as the binmen hadn't reported damaging it and the lid would have come off through wear and tear.

When he complained his lidless bin was filling up with rainwater he claims they told him to drill holes in the bottom of it. After five months of back-and-forth without them budging, a council worker finally delivered a free new green bin. Mr Spencer had not received an email or any other form of notification telling him a new bin was finally on its way.

Tim Spencer proudly shows off his new bin (Tim Spencer / SWNS)

Mr Spencer had been fined £25 to replace the bin (Tim Spencer / SWNS)

The 56-year-old from Barming in Kent, said: "I was drinking a cup of tea and said to my wife 'oh, there's a chap outside and he's unloading a green bin.' I thought that must be the bin but we had received no notification or email. He just rocks up and dropped off a new bin, no notification at all."

The council worker reportedly told him: "I was here yesterday but you weren't in.'"

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"I said 'I didn't know you were coming, it was news to me I was getting a replacement bin.'" 'Your bosses at the council didn't believe it's broken. He said, 'well, it's missing it's lid and it's off its hinges, so it's broken."

The council worker took away the old bin and brought a new one, even painting the number two on it to match his address. Mr Spencer decided not to contact the council again about the bin. His brown bin was returned with a split, but he chose not to bring that up with the council.

He added: "One of my neighbours said we don't want our brown bin anymore, so do you want it? I didn't mention that to the council, I just left that one. But all's well that ends well."

Last April, the council announced residents would be charged for replacement bins, in an effort to save £100,000 from the waste collection budget. Locals protested the charges were unfair because the bin men often damage the bins themselves when handling the rubbish. The council did a U-turn and said bins will be replaced for free if the refuse collectors reported a problem, rather than the owner.

As a result, Mr Spencer thought the council would waive the £25 fee.

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