Refuse collection in Dublin - who offers best value?
- Thread starter Dinarius
- Start date
Just a few things to be aware of when signing up for the monthly plans vs the pay by weight and in general when dealing with Panda
Have any of you or indeed has anybody seen the contract that panda has signed you up for because they will refer to it when and if you have a disagreement with them ??
Even though you may pay cheaper on a monthly plan now, Panda is still weighing your waste and if in the future it feels you are exceeding the limits of your plan they will move you to a more expensive plan and you won't have a say in it
The difference between the pay by weight plans and the monthly plans is, Panda can increase the cost of the monthly plan whenever they like but as far as I know they can only increase the service charge on the other plan as the cost of lifts and waste is set by an authority that over sees the waste industry, so expect the monthly plans to start rising in price on a regular basis
If in the future you decide to change provider have panda highlighted that there will be a repurposing charge for your bins and if you have extra bins this will cost more and your account will not be closed until this is paid
Not saying any of the other providers are any different but the move to monthly plans in my opinion is not to save us the customer anything
but rather for the business to take full control over their pricing so as to increase profits at our expense
The whole point of pay by weight was that we the consumer could have some sort of control over our waste costs and monthly plans remove that from us
Have any of you or indeed has anybody seen the contract that panda has signed you up for because they will refer to it when and if you have a disagreement with them ??
Even though you may pay cheaper on a monthly plan now, Panda is still weighing your waste and if in the future it feels you are exceeding the limits of your plan they will move you to a more expensive plan and you won't have a say in it
The difference between the pay by weight plans and the monthly plans is, Panda can increase the cost of the monthly plan whenever they like but as far as I know they can only increase the service charge on the other plan as the cost of lifts and waste is set by an authority that over sees the waste industry, so expect the monthly plans to start rising in price on a regular basis
If in the future you decide to change provider have panda highlighted that there will be a repurposing charge for your bins and if you have extra bins this will cost more and your account will not be closed until this is paid
Not saying any of the other providers are any different but the move to monthly plans in my opinion is not to save us the customer anything
but rather for the business to take full control over their pricing so as to increase profits at our expense
The whole point of pay by weight was that we the consumer could have some sort of control over our waste costs and monthly plans remove that from us
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I know that panda like any company are looking to maximise their profits .
Currently , they are charging me €400 a year and will now charge me €222 a year for the same service.
I know they can increase the rates in the future but they can also increase the pay by weight rates.
It is up to me look for the best price and this is the best price at the moment . I don’t understand how you can claim that continuing to pay €400 a year will be a benefit to me .
I have shopped around for most utilities and ignored this one , so lesson learned
Currently , they are charging me €400 a year and will now charge me €222 a year for the same service.
I know they can increase the rates in the future but they can also increase the pay by weight rates.
It is up to me look for the best price and this is the best price at the moment . I don’t understand how you can claim that continuing to pay €400 a year will be a benefit to me .
I have shopped around for most utilities and ignored this one , so lesson learned
Dr Strangelove
Registered User
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I pay €224 per annum with City Bin. It’s 30kg per lift fortnightly which I am rarely exceed and pay extra for per kilo I think 50c.
I called them up seeking a discount and threatening to switch and she wouldn’t budge either on price or allowance.
She hinted that my heavy use was why they wouldn’t offer a discount.
I called them up seeking a discount and threatening to switch and she wouldn’t budge either on price or allowance.
She hinted that my heavy use was why they wouldn’t offer a discount.
Des Pondent
Registered User
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Back in 2023 I was paying Panda over €400 annually on a pay by weight plan. I switched to Panda’s €17.50 a month plan and have been on it ever since, costing €210 annually. That plan went up to €20.50 last year but I am still only being charged the €17.50.
If I did nothing in 2023 I would have paid an additional and unnecessary €190+ for each of those 2 years. If Panda ever move me to a more expensive plan and I can get better value elsewhere, I will move to wherever and whatever type of plan that best suits at that time.
The advantage of a plan though is that I think it's easier to have visibility. I saw when I received my bills that the charges had increase but to be honest I just paid (or actually this one my husband did) when needed and I didn't calculate the increase. (now I have, it's not 50 but 35 per cent from 2023 to 2024). That's for an average of 3 lift per 2 month-period. We were not even close to the 65kg per month of my new contract as it looked more like 25kg or less a month. I should be saving over €346 so I will take my chance with their future pricing. Our initial reluctance to move was because at the time there was no weight on our bills so we had no idea how we were doing. And then just inertia...
I never said that it would "benefit" you, you obviously have saved by moving as I sure most people in your position will
What I did say was
Do you not think that there is somebody in accounts wondering why an account went from a yearly €400 down to €222
and how they can get you back up to the €400 again, I know if it was my business I'd be thinking along those lines
Agreed but wait till you try and leave Panda and see what their going to charge you, that's of course if you actually have a choice of provider to move to, there's only two in my area, one been Panda
Have you looked at your contract with Panda to see what the T&Cs are regarding not been on the correct plan for your wastage???
For us my annual charge was around €180, when we moved to the fixed plan that cost went up to €210 and then there was the €3 increase which would have brought it up to €246 for the year and like you guys I'm not the only one who saw an increase in our wastage costs
At the moment you are saving and yes you should make hay while the sun shines because I doubt very much it's going to stay that way
There's more then likely another increase due as Panda have to pay the new minimum wage and auto enrolment costs
With regards to you not not been billed the €3 increase, my experience with Panda is that they will come looking for it at some stage
It's what happened to me, there was a charge on my account and when I queried it was told it was due to and undercharge going back a year
When I proved that It wasn't that's when my loyalty to this company changed
Again wait until you do decide to change providers and see if it's as easy as you think it's going to be
Dr Strangelove
Registered User
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My amateur theory is that broadband and waste suppliers will work hardest to retain you. This is because equipment has to be set up/removed and bins have to be exchanged respectively. This has a big cost.
OTOH gas and electricity providers are just glorified billing systems so there is no tangible cost to someone leaving or joining. So no incentive to retain customers.
OTOH gas and electricity providers are just glorified billing systems so there is no tangible cost to someone leaving or joining. So no incentive to retain customers.
Have you checked what that would be if you return to per lift? In my experience, lifts increased also. The service charge invoice I received was 135 and the lift for black bins are 13.50. You would not get a lot of lift per year for 246 if you add up the government charge, the green bin lifts and the brown bin lifts that are now quite expensive.
I did this time last year and yes it was cheaper for me to be on the pay by weight system
I appreciate that for many who have family's, the new system offers savings but my feeling is that's not going to last forever
Did you not have the possibility to return to pay by weigh system if you wanted?
Yes but under the old system you had a choice to put your bin out or not, you had some sort of control over your bin charges
The new system removes that choice and for me makes it more expensive
I did try that with Panda and that's when our relationship broke down and at this stage is unrecoverable
We pay Thorntons about €288 per year and I would have to say I find them very good to deal with and up front about any charges. I think, but am not 100% sure, that they are the only company who supply the free compostable bags for the brown bin which is very handy. They can be hard enough to get in the shops and can be quite expensive.
Greyhound and Panda appear to be quite sneaky in their financial dealings with their customers.
Greyhound and Panda appear to be quite sneaky in their financial dealings with their customers.
Sounds like pandamonium! Must have been very difficult to bear. Was it really that black and white and can't be resolved? Their pricing can be a bit bamboozling alright
Sorry