Greyhound waste collection leaves a trail of anger

YOUR CONSUMER QUERIES ANSWERED:We have been getting a lot of complaints about Greyhound waste collection in recent weeks.

Gerry Costigan is one unhappy customer. “It took me 23 minutes to get through to Greyhound on Friday to discuss my account,” he says. When he did get through, he was told the call-centre operative was not in a position to discuss his account, and that he would receive a call back. It never came.

“I called them again on Monday, it took me 32 minutes to get through. Again they at first said could not discuss my account but after many attempts it was obvious they had my information. I gave up in disgust.”

The kernel of his problem is that last year he paid around €300 in charges but only received around €100 worth of bin lifts .

In the absence of any help, he rang City Bins. “I got through at once and the staff were so helpful. It is going to cost €99 euro for a year – a no-brainer. I signed up at once.”

Another reader in Drumcondra is concerned at changes to Greyhound’s recycling collection. Like many in the city, her recycling rubbish has been collected at no cost once it is put in transparent bags from the company. Greyhound is now charging for the bags.

“I received a letter from the company saying the bags would be available in my local Centra but when I went in, the Centra manager said that Greyhound had not delivered the bags yet.

“He told me that they had been trying to get them without success.”

An absence of cover is not the worst thing in the world 

A reader called Michelle contacted us last week with a story that will resonate with many people who are struggling to pay for private health insurance for their families.

“Last November, after a lot of thought, myself and my husband decided that we would have to let private healthcare for our children go,” she writes. “We have four who range in age from 22 down to 13 and because of their ages our premium was going to increase by €1,700 per annum.”

The couple were most reluctant to let the insurance for their children lapse “as they have all been covered by private healthcare since the day they were born. We did continue private healthcare for ourselves.”

Unfortunately, less than three months after they cancelled their children’s policies with Aviva, one of their daughters fell ill. “We brought her to the GP who immediately sent her to the Eye and Ear hospital in Dublin. She was then sent to A&E at St Vincent’s,” Michelle writes.

Because of her symptoms she was admitted immediately. “She was on a ward in just over 24 hours, which is excellent and she has had the most wonderful care there since. While she is a public patient she is sharing a room with 4 other ladies two of whom are in the VHI but cannot get a private room because of pressure on the hospital.”