Panda Recycling

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Cervelo

Registered User
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Recently I've noticed a coupe of odd things happening with my Panda account
Last May I was moved over to a fixed payment scheme which has resulted in a small increase to my usual annual charge
Now I'm not complaining about that as it's really only a small increase and I've now got a second compost bin

Last October I noticed a double charge on my account and when queried was told it was because of an under charge during the switch over to fixed payments
And though I argued the opposite and was told there was definitely an undercharge on their side, they never charged me in December, so all good
But again in February I was double charged again but this time their now telling me it's because we've moved from payment in arears to payment in advance
I asked them when this change happened and when they notified about this change and they said that they had informed me by email, which I didn't receive

So I'm wondering if any other Panda customers have noticed this change in charging and did you get a notification email about it??
 
I got a new service charge bill recently from Panda with no notification.

"Service charge from 1st March until next service charge 01/03/2024 - 30/06/2024 renewal date. €3.30 13.50% "
 
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I got the email about the recent changes to their charging methods. The 3.30 charge is mentioned, buried about half-way down the email. I found it on a second-time reading !

"An additional service charge invoice to the value of €3.30 will be issued to your account on 01/03/2024 for services between 01/03/2024 and 01/07/2024."
 
Coincidently got an email last night informing me my "Service Plan for 2024" was going up in price by €3 to €20.50 per month from the 1st of April

Think it might be time to change back to a pay by weight plan rather than a set charge plan as it's now at least €50 per year more expensive then when we were on the old system!!
 
When I started with Panda, pay by weight with the standing and lift charges was the only option they and others offered, payment went out by direct debit and like many I looked no further for years, I was paying around €480 annually.

Last year I got round to looking further and switched to their €17.50 fixed plan, I can keep my black bin under the 32 kg monthly allowance. It is disappointing that this plan is now going up to €20.50 monthly, but for me it is still nearly 50% cheaper than paying by weight.

There are always exceptions but I don't think there can be many who would be better off on pay by weight rather than a fixed price plan.

Another thing to note with Panda is the price anomalies in some of their plans. The €20.50 ‘’Essential’’ plan gives a black bin allowance of 32 Kg monthly and 28 cent per kg if you go over. Their most popular ‘’Standard’’ plan only gives an extra 10 kg allowance but is €3 more monthly. You would be better off on the cheaper plan and paying 28 cent kg if you go over, rather than paying an extra €3 every month regardless.
 
Des Pondent said:
Last year I got round to looking further and switched to their €17.50 fixed plan, I can keep my black bin under the 32 kg monthly allowance. It is disappointing that this plan is now going up to €20.50 monthly, but for me it is still nearly 50% cheaper than paying by weight.
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For us it was the other way round, the €17.50 plan meant we are paying an extra €20 per year but figured with the extra compost bin it was worth the increase

We would only put the black bin out once a year, the green bin once a month, the brown bin maybe once during winter but could do with a few extra lifts during the summer due to gardening waste so it made sense to be on the fixed plan

Now I think this extra €3 a month probably makes the pay by weight plan the best for us and hopefully will solve the issue I have with paying in advance for my waste collection but no doubt the pay by weight plan has probably also gone up in price as well :(
 
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Cervelo said:
We would only put the black bin out once a year, the green bin once a month, the brown bin maybe once during winter .......
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Wow that's low. Our black bin goes out fairly full at least once a month, sometimes twice. Green bin goes out jammed twice a month, brown bin also goes out fairly full twice a month.
 
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Without knowing household sizes it impossible to say if it's a lot or a little
 
True, I have no idea how many live in Cervelo's household. But regardless of how many live there, only putting the black bin out once a year, and the brown bin once over the winter is surely on the low side and a great credit to the Cervelo household for achieving this.
 
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Des Pondent said:
True, I have no idea how many live in Cervelo's household. But regardless of how many live there, only putting the black bin out once a year, and the brown bin once over the winter is surely on the low side and a great credit to the Cervelo household for achieving this.
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Thanks Des Pondent,
Just for reference in 22' we put the black bin out once 40Kg the green bin 10 times 40Kg and the brown bin 10 times 310kg
I can't give figures for 23' as Panda only have a service charge on the bill now instead of lifts and weights
We're just a couple with a visiting cat and would reckon our waste is very much on the low side or just managed well

Using the above figures it would seem going by Pandas charges for "Pay by weight" we would be better off moving from the "Essential" plan of €246 per year to the "Pay by weight" plan €206 saving about €40 for the year
 
ClubMan said:
I think the Chinese government take them back when you're finished with them?
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Any idea if they have a service plan or do they charge by lift and weight??

Rang up Monday morning and asked to be put back on the "Pay by weight" plan and was told they'd have to talk to the area manager as not all customers are going up in price even though I informed her I'd received an email informing me that my plan was going up

Five hours later I rang again and got a different person who changed me over to the "Pay by weight" plan
I then cancelled the DD with them and PTSB which all has been confirmed by Panda
So now when they come looking for their €90 yearly service charge it will be €90 less the €17.5 they over charged me in February
Or they can come collect their bins and Ill look after my own waste myself
 
For what it’s worth, I was with Panda for years and found the pricing difficult to understand. I noticed unexpected costs at times when I looked back on the bills. Before Xmas, I decided to transfer to Greyhound as they had a clear pricing structure with a 6 month reduction for transferring. It took me literally hours of call waiting to get my account shut down with Panda and they charged 30 euros to “repurpose” the bins (apparently they needed to put in a new chip, strip any stickers and add new ones). They claimed other companies charge more - no idea if that’s true - but I was so annoyed about having to pay this. For starters, I cannot see why the chip cannot be assigned to a new account. I will never use them again.
 
mir2001 said:
For what it’s worth, I was with Panda for years and found the pricing difficult to understand. I noticed unexpected costs at times when I looked back on the bills.
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Thanks for that mir200, at least I know I'm not the only one who's had or having problems with Panda

At this stage our relationship has completely broken down due to them taking money out of my account without notifying me first
Changing the T&Cs of our contract of service without even providing us with notice or a contract or even able to see the T&Cs online,
like the €30 termination fee, the move from payment in arears to payment in advanced and not providing a service I paid for in the service plan
And now that I had moved to "pay by weight" invoicing me for lifts and waste disposal that didn't/couldn't have happened

So as of the end of March I'm out of contract with them I've both cancelled the DD with them and my bank and will await their next move
regarding the emptying and collection of their bins

Haven't signed up to Greyhound as of yet, am thinking of looking after the disposal of our waste ourselves over the next few weeks or months
but more then likely will sign up due to it been more hassle then it's worth money and time wise
 
Cervelo said:
Thanks for that mir200, at least I know I'm not the only one who's had or having problems with Panda

At this stage our relationship has completely broken down due to them taking money out of my account without notifying me first
Changing the T&Cs of our contract of service without even providing us with notice or a contract or even able to see the T&Cs online,
like the €30 termination fee, the move from payment in arears to payment in advanced and not providing a service I paid for in the service plan
And now that I had moved to "pay by weight" invoicing me for lifts and waste disposal that didn't/couldn't have happened

So as of the end of March I'm out of contract with them I've both cancelled the DD with them and my bank and will await their next move
regarding the emptying and collection of their bins

Haven't signed up to Greyhound as of yet, am thinking of looking after the disposal of our waste ourselves over the next few weeks or months
but more then likely will sign up due to it been more hassle then it's worth money and time wise
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Just curious, how did this go? Did they look for the 30 euros exit fee?
 
mir2001 said:
Just curious, how did this go? Did they look for the 30 euros exit fee?
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Still in limbo ATM, I emailed customer service when they sent me an invoice early April explaining where we're at
And Informed them as far as I was concerned I was no longer in contract with them and when they empty the two brown bins I will then make all four bins available for collection but as of today no response from Panda
So at the moment I've no bin contract with any provider but will have to move to greyhound in the next couple of weeks if Panda and myself can't agree terms

By chance was out to lunch with a solicitor friend last week and asked her advise about my issues with Panda and she feels the exit fee would be unenforceable given that they have never in 14 years provided me with a contract stating the T&C's or even available to view on their website
So in a nutshell still waiting on Panda to make their next move!!
 
Sue Ellen said:
Are they your only other option as don't seem too popular with their sneaky charges.
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Unfortunately there are only two providers in my area Panda and Greyhound, so limited in choice other then doing it myself
Which although manageable given our low waste volume would quickly become a pain in the backside

It's a nice little cartel (for want of a better word?) in our area with both providers offering very similar packages and prices if not the same
but it probably explains why they are both multi award winning companies for their customer service :rolleyes:
 
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Cervelo said:
Still in limbo ATM, I emailed customer service when they sent me an invoice early April explaining where we're at
And Informed them as far as I was concerned I was no longer in contract with them and when they empty the two brown bins I will then make all four bins available for collection but as of today no response from Panda
So at the moment I've no bin contract with any provider but will have to move to greyhound in the next couple of weeks if Panda and myself can't agree terms

By chance was out to lunch with a solicitor friend last week and asked her advise about my issues with Panda and she feels the exit fee would be unenforceable given that they have never in 14 years provided me with a contract stating the T&C's or even available to view on their website
So in a nutshell still waiting on Panda to make their next move!!
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I guess I just handed it over although I did make it clear I thought it was a complete swizz.
It's a ridiculous idea and immediately swallows a lot of the saving from moving provider. I also found that Panda real dragged their heels on emptying/ collecting the bins and it was unclear if I would be charged more if I put them out for normal collection prior to being collected, it all felt as if the rules were being made up as they went along. And it took me 30-40 minutes on hold at times to get through to anyone.

So far I have found Greyhound ok although after seeing @Sue Ellen's post I looked up the direct debits and realised I am paying between 14.14 and 14.25 per month so I guess there is some small extra charge there.
 
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