phs wastetech problems any advice

grandmaryalls · Mar 9, 2008

hiya anyone had hassle with these cowboys? after a dispute over an invoice i decided to terminate contract only to be told u need to give 3 months notice before anniversary date to terminate.first they told me it was december i sent a letter fine, then they said it was may so i gave notice in jan even better .then after a recent phone call they resaid it was december. having recorded all phone calls with them stating and changing things as they please would they hold up in court as i have no intention of paying to these conartists. thanks gio

Christiane · Mar 9, 2008

This post is already on the first page of google as well as this http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/thread/431/11954/RE-PHS-Wastetech-waste-disposal.aspx

Not much help but maybe a bit more googling their name will put your mind at rest.

KM-Tiger · Mar 9, 2008

Was there any paperwork when you signed up with them? T&C's on the back of an invoice?

I had a similar problem with a fire extinguisher maintenance company. When you sign the job sheet for work done, on the back are T&C's that try to lock you in for 5 years. I was advised that wouldn't stand up in court and told them where to stick their 5-year contract.

akhtarkasia · Mar 9, 2008

Hi,

I had similar problem for our office. I informed them, they told me to give them 3 months notice. They said i had signed for fixed contract. I requested this and they could not supply me with a signed contract. I stopped their direct debit, i informed them about my decision and told them they will be hearing from my solicitors if they pursue with a claim. They immediately withrew their claim.

I can't belive that in this day and age companies like this still operate and able to get away with day light robbery.

Dawg · Mar 9, 2008

I got invoices that were too large and decided to change. I wrote to cancel, and sent it registered mail. 5 days later they phoned to check if I really wanted to cancel, agreed to cancel immediately, and confirmed in writing 3 days later.
Maybe some of the publicity is getting to them: I know that FSB in Brighton have forced them not to pusue several ex clients.
(The sending by registered mail was a FSB suggestion).

grandmaryalls · Mar 10, 2008

akhtarkasia said:
Hi,

I had similar problem for our office. I informed them, they told me to give them 3 months notice. They said i had signed for fixed contract. I requested this and they could not supply me with a signed contract. I stopped their direct debit, i informed them about my decision and told them they will be hearing from my solicitors if they pursue with a claim. They immediately withrew their claim.

I can't belive that in this day and age companies like this still operate and able to get away with day light robbery.

thanks for the advice they can forget any more money from me ..

Elisa · Mar 10, 2008

The Brighton based company took over an existing contract to collect rubbish from the business and instantly put my back up with their invoicing and incredibly rude customer services. They sent out a form to us saying we had to sign it as a legal requirement to collect the waste. Form said that signing it meant we agreed to all their terms and conditions (not included and therefore in law we wouldn't actually be bound). In trying to sort out problems with them I had interminable phone calls where I was called a liar once by them, and another call degenerated in to a petty squabble between me and one of the Managers who said I couldn't terminate the contract without this notice (never originally agreed to).

I said I was going to contact their head office in Wales. They told me that it was nothing to do with head office and they wouldn't help. /never have I been so infuriated!!

I rang head office and spoke to the incredibly helpful competent and polite PA to Peter Cohen the MD. She sorted it out in a second and I got a letter of apology from Peter Cohen too!

I advised her to look at all the unhappy customers of the Brighton branch blogging on the net.

I highly recommend you take complaints to the head office in Cardiff!!!!!!! I also recommend that you fax letters to Brighton. They will be ignored but you have proof of sending.

grandmaryalls · Mar 10, 2008

hiya thanks for the info u got the phone no for their head office? thanks..

Elisa · Mar 12, 2008

The Group is PHS Group plc

Group Head Office
Western Industrial Estate
Caerphilly
CF83 1XH
Tel: 02920 851 000
Fax: 02920 863 288

I spoke to PA to Peter Cohen who is Jan Henley.

She was very helpful and efficient.

I thought I'd give Brighton a quick ring to get the number rather than digging out my paperwork ... 10 minutes on hold 1. one aggressive questioning of why I wanted to speak to Head Office and where I was calling from 2. one denial that there was a head office ... and finally ... the number of the depot in Wales which is not where the admin. people are .....

I dug out my paperwork!

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at the Customer Service training sessions in Brighton ...

They must TEACH them how to be this rude :|

grandmaryalls · Mar 12, 2008

youve been proper helpful if your in sheffield il buy u a drink or even a dinner.

grandmaryalls · Mar 13, 2008

got through to jan henley hopefully she will sort it.the staff refuse to accept that they recieved letters sent recorded delivery for termination of contract the list goes on and on id rather eat my rubbish than use them a bunch of bad mannered liars,cant understand what they gain operating like this.:|

mycool · Oct 2, 2008

I'm with PHS Wastetech and have been for years now; I can't say that I have experienced any of the issues being discussed. When I first changed to them they saved me almost £1,000 a year (I had a red bin before). Prices have risen a bit since then but can anyone tell me what prices havent gone up?!

I'm sorry that you have had a poor experience, I'd recommend PHS Wastetech to anyone though. They have not missed a single one of my collections EVER.

shelley11 · Feb 26, 2009

Elisa said:
The Group is PHS Group plc

Group Head Office
Western Industrial Estate
Caerphilly
CF83 1XH
Tel: 02920 851 000
Fax: 02920 863 288

I spoke to PA to Peter Cohen who is Jan Henley.

She was very helpful and efficient.

I thought I'd give Brighton a quick ring to get the number rather than digging out my paperwork ... 10 minutes on hold 1. one aggressive questioning of why I wanted to speak to Head Office and where I was calling from 2. one denial that there was a head office ... and finally ... the number of the depot in Wales which is not where the admin. people are .....

I dug out my paperwork!

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at the Customer Service training sessions in Brighton ... They must TEACH them how to be this rude :|

THE CUSTOMER SERVICE WITH THIS FIRM IS A COMPLETE DISGRACE THEY TREAT YOU LIKE **** TALK TO YOU LIKE **** AND RIP YOU OFF

Crissie · Mar 4, 2009

shelley11 said:
THE CUSTOMER SERVICE WITH THIS FIRM IS A COMPLETE DISGRACE THEY TREAT YOU LIKE **** TALK TO YOU LIKE **** AND RIP YOU OFF

Is this thread still alive. I am having terrible trouble with PHS Wastetech. They bought out the waste contractor I used in Aug 2008 and I just received a couple of letters introducing themselves and advising that they would be in contact with any changes. That was the last I heared, UNTIL ........January, when I received an invoice for £140 for administration charges. I immediately wrote to them advising that I would not pay this extortionate fee, but I would provide them with a Waste Transfer note if necessary. Needless to say, no reply. Then in February I received the New Transfer note (although the one I had from my original provider is still in force until end March'09) I contacted our Legal Advice Line who advised me to write again terminating the contract giving three months notice. Again no reply, so I telephoned to discuss. Told they had not received any letters and I would have to give six months notice. Sent again by fax and recorded delivery. Still no reply. Rang again, they would not back down on the termination or fee. Rang legal again. Told me to write again, still no reply. Rang today, still no joy.

These people must be trained in being offhand and rude to customers. I will not back down, they can whistle for their money. If they do not remove their bins I've a good mind to put them in the street. By the way, we have never signed a contract with PHS........ Very tired of it all. Would be good to know if anyone else is currently having trouble.

orchid · Apr 1, 2009

I am totally disgusted with phs. sold my business and notified phs by phone to terminate contract,they said they needed proof that i did sell the business. my solicitor wrote to them with proof. i also sent a letter to confirm. a month later bills is still being sent. rang them they said they have not had any letter, no phone calls has been logged they are unaware that i have moved. rang again a week later still dont have any record that the contract has ended. they want me to send the letter again, no boubt i will ring them next week they still havent recied the letter!!!

orchid · Apr 1, 2009

Thank you for the advice. I have just finished a letter and about to send it to those horrible rude people at Brighten. i totally agree the fact that they can just put you on hold for 15 min then return to tell you that they have never recieved any letters from you is not on, life is stressful enough without having to deal with these idiots.

mdj101 · Apr 2, 2009

Just tell them to F'off and take you to court.. they won't

Crissie · Apr 2, 2009

orchid said:
Thank you for the advice. I have just finished a letter and about to send it to those horrible rude people at Brighten. i totally agree the fact that they can just put you on hold for 15 min then return to tell you that they have never recieved any letters from you is not on, life is stressful enough without having to deal with these idiots.

I wrote two very strong letters to both Lancing and the head office in Caerphilly. I had an e-mail confirmation from the M.D's secretary from head office saying they were looking into the matter. A few days later I received a call from Lancing aasking if I would re-consider if they did not impose the administration charge and they also offered to reduce the cost of each bin collection. Seemed tempting, so I said I would look at their new proposal and when the contract arrived, yes they had reduced the price and it stated no Admin charges but ...... surprise, surprise they now stated that it was subject to landfill and disposal charges and on the reverse nearly every clause starts with "PHS Wastetech reserve the right to........" What a con.... I have sent them my final letter rejecting their proposal.
Good luck Orchid.

Hansonsteel · May 13, 2009

mycool said:
I'm with PHS Wastetech and have been for years now; I can't say that I have experienced any of the issues being discussed. When I first changed to them they saved me almost £1,000 a year (I had a red bin before). Prices have risen a bit since then but can anyone tell me what prices havent gone up?!

I'm sorry that you have had a poor experience, I'd recommend PHS Wastetech to anyone though. They have not missed a single one of my collections EVER.

try cancelling your existing agreement, then youll see what the problems are with them. Im looking reporting them to Watchdog, this site says it all really?

Phil216 · Jun 14, 2010

I work in waste management and I know of PHS very well. I know their contracts and I woul dbe happy to advise anyone on a one to one basis. email me on Phil216 at hot male dot com write it how it sounds.
The company I work for would be happy to manage your waste in the West Yorkshire or North Yorkshire regions, so if you need a bin once you get out of the PHS nightmare then I can help there too, especially since we are very cheap.

So fire me your questions and I will advise you.

Phil.

Phil216 · Jun 14, 2010

I work in the trade and love taking work off PHS, they rob people blind, and as you can see you only get problems with them when you try to cancel, so thats why your unaware they are cowboys.

Current rate is £8.50 per lift for an 1100ltr Euro bin collected weekly or fortnightly.

littlebiz · Sep 17, 2010

I've tried writing to the owner, writing to accounts, writing to customer service. No response from these PHS cowboys whatsover. They sent us a form for a 'pre-acceptance audit' which they said must be signed immediately. It said it would be a 'nomimal' charge. (Nominal means less than the real cost.)They later hid the charge (£49) for information they already had, on an invoice and took it by direct debit. When I called them I asked what the charge was for - was told it was a 'government fee'. When I questioned further, it turns out it's not - it goes to them.

Now they've just hidden another charge (no amount stated, just hidden in total) for a 'pre-treatment charge'. Uh? what the hell is that? So they charged us £55 for picking up 3 bin bags (which are not ours as we are closed) and some made up charge. So this pre-treatment charge must be another £45 or so. How do they pre treat a bag of deli waste?

Time for MPs, watchdog, trading standards etc I think. How can these scumbags get away with it when it's all over the internet what they get up to?

They are complete charlatans. Scum.

asj100 · Nov 3, 2010

Hi everyone,
I have just enjoyed a court appearance after PHS took my company to court for none payment of outstanding invoices totalling £1700 plus court costs. ALL THESE CHARGES WERE INCURRED AFTER I CANCELLED my PHS contract with just one month's notice. The PHS invoices included 2 WTNs (Waste transfer Note) and collections they never made as I had changed my supplier.

The first thing I must point out that PHS LOST the case, the Judge used terms like Deplorable, disgraceful and illegal when summing up PHSs conduct..

First thing, You can cancel the PHS contract at any time While clause 1.1 does allow them to roll over the contract unless you give them 3 months notice at a specific time point in the contracted period, clause 5.4 also provides for an early cancellation with less than 3 months notice or no notice.

The contract is a binding agreement, that makes it binding on both sides. Therefore if PHS change the terms they are in breach of the agreement. The WTN charges are not detailed in the contract and they are demanding payment for a service/product you did not request them to provide, while the Environment Agency (EA) require you to hold details confirming how you dispose of your waste, there is no requirement for PHS to be the provider of that information. The EA list what is to be recorded, ALL the information they require is contained on the front of the PHS contract. The court agreed with me that PHS had no legal right to demand payment for the WTN, also they had no right to demand that they are the only company who can provide the WTN.

I cancelled because of the increases in prices, the additional endless admin charges and the charges for the WTN. The first thing I did was point out to PHS in a letter that they were in breach of contract by increasing prices and making charges not agreed in the contract. I give them 21 days to refund ALL the over charges and remedy their breach, naturally they ignored this demand. I then wrote to them after them 21 days notice and informed them that as they were in clear breach and had failed to remedy their breach that I would deem the contract void. I also stated that the contract was cancelled and that it would end on a date (I give them 30 days notice, mainly because my new supplier could not start earlier.) I also told them that I required them to remove their equipment (waste bins) from my premises.

I maintained in the court that PHS breached the contract first, I had provided them with an opportunity to remedy the breach which they had refused. The court held that as PHS had breached the contract first and failed to correct the breach I had cause to cancel

Second, They had made a claim to the court for the whole outstanding balance of the invoices they had issued AFTER I cancelled.
Clause 5.4 of the PHS contract allows them to claim damages if a contract is cancelled without the correct notice in accordance with clause 1.1. However, 5.4 only allows them to claim for loss of profit for the balance of the contract. So if the court had agreed with PHS that I cancelled incorrectly they had NO GROUNDS to claim for any or all of the invoices they had issued. As they were unable to provide the court with any details of their loss of profits, their claim would have failed on that count on its own.

They would not be able to claim that a monthly contract requiring a monthly charge of say £25, to claim that all of that amount profit, therefore the worst they could have done was claim a percentage of the ACTUAL CONTRACTED monthly costs for each month still remaining on the contract.

It is important not to actually owe any of the monies CORRECTLY demanded by PHS, if they have billed you for more than the contracted price and you wish to cancel, make sure you pay the invoice up to the value of the contract. (So if your contracted price is £25 and they bill you for £40, pay the £25 by cheque and include a letter informing them that the additional £15 is in breach of contract) Provided they cant claim that you havent paid the amounts agreed in the contract then PHS will not be able to claim you are also in breach of the agreement and if your breach was first, well it would get messy.

If you want further info, let me know, I will visit this forum for a few weeks to see who wants details to stop these criminals continuing to rip off hard working businesses.

Regards
Steve asj100

littlebiz · Nov 4, 2010

Brilliant, well done. When are these PHS Wastetech cowboys going to realise they can't bully everyone?

paula2499 · Jan 26, 2011

Hi There
We too are having problems with Phs along with another business that rents property from me. We have both been charged for admin and WTN along with price increases without notice etc, Out of 9 invoices I have only three that is the correct amount. I asked for a 12 months contract and they signed me up for 36 months. Thanks for the info it has been helpful in the way I approch this.

asj100 · Jan 29, 2011

Hi,

I am always sorry to hear others are still have issues with this shower. The main issues usually are the over charging, followed a close second by the charges for the WTNs, I would say that at my hearing the court held that these charges were completely unfounded, as the original contract did not contain any requirement for me to accept or that they had the right to charge for WTN, Also the full details contained in the original contract also had the exact same details as their proported WTN, therefore there was no need for them to provide a separate certificate and therefore there was no need for me to buy them for the WTN. They also had no right to demand a fee for a document which I had not contracted for them to provide. I demanded and received credit notes for the full amount they had demanded. 5.4 of their T&Cs is the worst they can do to you, so well worth going to the end with them... If you wish to avoid court action then calculate what you think would be a reasonable profit margin (I used 30%) take that percentage of your original contract price x by the number of months you had left on the contract and offer them that as full and final settlement... I personally would go the whole course and pay them nothing.

Hope this helps,

Regards
Steve

littlebiz · Jan 30, 2011

In the end I had to write to my MP, who wrote to the boss of this dodgy PHS Wastetech company. They stopped all the charges, and promised to never contact us again. They never did explain their miraculously quadrupled charges, though.

It's unfortunate that no one is actually able to prevent PHS Wastetech sucking new innocent customers into their dishonest clutches.

We'd still be paying their trumped up charges now, if it wasn't for the fact we forgot to sign the contract.

Disgruntledbob · Feb 3, 2011

I would be interested to know what action have you taken Paula? I have complained bitterly on many occassions and got nowhere. I have now just received a letter from PHS stating they can charge what they like under 4.6 of their contract. I would really like to know how other people are dealing with this problem....

whistle blower phs · Feb 9, 2011

grandmaryalls said:
hiya anyone had hassle with these cowboys? after a dispute over an invoice i decided to terminate contract only to be told u need to give 3 months notice before anniversary date to terminate.first they told me it was december i sent a letter fine, then they said it was may so i gave notice in jan even better .then after a recent phone call they resaid it was december. having recorded all phone calls with them stating and changing things as they please would they hold up in court as i have no intention of paying to these conartists. thanks gio

i actually work for phs as a dustcart driver and they treat their staff just as bad as there customers, recycling sacks are dumped in landfiled sites and picked up by us dustmen, and never recycled,even thou you pay extreme prices for the sacks,**thats fraud** we are told to lie to the clients and pretend that they are recycling but they **ARE NOT** WE ARE TREATED LIKE SECOND CLASS CITIZENS, they actually were in profit of 50 million pounds last year, the company is a COWBOY COMPANY breaking health and safety,employment law,if you need any info let me know how to tackle this

Cogs74 · Mar 15, 2011

Hi I need some advice regarding Phs....have just ended

Cogs74 · Mar 15, 2011

Hi I need help with PHS!!! Have just ended my contract..gave 3 months notice..however they have told me it will end in 2013..when i checked my contract i had been signed up to a 36 month contract when the account manager who sold me told me it was 12 months (my fault for not reading properly!!) When i rung in December to ask how to go about cancelling he checked my account and said my anniversary was in March and as long as i gave 3 months i could terminate..he never told me i had another 2 years!! Our prices have tripled..which we werent informed they would as well as all the other prices charged..just cant afford anymore! And i have signed to a new waste provider thinking PHS had ended!! Just need advice on wheter i can opt out early..have tried emailing but no answer!! If the contract ends anyway at 36months why would you have to give notice? Surely they should check you want to renew? HELP!!!!

littlebiz · Mar 15, 2011

Hi Cogs74
Sorry to hear you're having the same problems with this PHS Wastetech. We had hassles with them for about 7 months, virtually every weekend I seemed to have to write to them. they had also lied about pricing to us, collected phantom bin bags after the shop was closed ie not producing waste, and quadrupled prices.

We were so lucky that we had actually forgotten to sign the contract. But even then, I think it was only a letter from our MP, that ended the matter.

I would suggest you write every week, and ask them to explain their charges. They won't reply, but keep all your letters. Email them too. Keep everything. Write to your MP, trading standards, and cancel your direct debit. I imagine they'll be charging you for other unnecessary bits of paper too. If you look back in this thread, and other both on here and other forums, you'll see what often happens is it goes to court, and PHS lose because the contract is 'onerous' and they really shouldn't be making up charges willy-nilly.

Some judges know them well, and always rule against them. Another has commented on the ridiculously small small print. PHS don't like to put anything in writing, apart from the ridiculous contract and endless statements and invoices.

Good luck with it!

missyflies · Mar 17, 2011

hi there,

Just wished to add that i to am phs client and really really wish i had never herd of them nothing but trouble im a little grooming shop in brighton and hove i dont produce that much rubbish and only have my 240 wellie bin pick up once a month at cost of £10.37 which includes vat and landfill charge.
Not great but things got worse with the WTN of £237.60 then they wanted an extra £70.80 for something called a pre accenptance audit which they say is a government requirement as a business, Its a lie i rang the council asked them they said all i need is a dutie of care certificate.
so angry with them as there so rude on the phone have missed my pick ups, said bin was empty when it wasn't calling me a lier, just so glad to find this site im deffo gonna write a complaint/contact over letter
Thanks guys

littlebiz · Mar 17, 2011

Wow £237 for a WTN! (these are downloadable free on the Internet.) The pre-acceptance audit is a complete scam. Watch out for the pre-treatment form/scam, too.

What if you cancelled direct debit and just paid by cheque for the legitimate bills? Try emailing your trading standards people to see if they can help.

littlebiz · Mar 17, 2011

I found they were also adding landfill tax to the cost of their made up forms, too.

kumuamara · Apr 11, 2011

Has any one received a date storage fee of £285.00 pa from PHS Waste collection.?

littlebiz · Apr 11, 2011

kumuamara said:
Has any one received a date storage fee of £285.00 pa from PHS Waste collection.?

That's a new one. Have you asked them what it's for?

littlebiz · Apr 11, 2011

Tell them you can store your own WTN. If it's for storing your invoices that's laughable. Imagine if you charged your customers/clients £285.00 to store their invoices. pHS just get worse and worse. I doubt that it's mentioned in their 6 point size t&cs.

brillangel · Jul 7, 2011

Hi,

Just came accross this site when I was searching for help with PHS.

I have been with them for a number of years now and am quite fed up of paying their increased prices and all the administration charges have been charging, trying to cancel the contract for a year now and had no success until recently. We couldn't agree a new lease so had to move out asap and they would only cancel our contract if we provided a letter from our solicitor confirming the leave etc..... and said the bin will be removed in 7-10 working days. I rung them today, being the 10th working day and still they have not removed the bin and said it will take another 7-10 working days. The landlord only agreed to let us have the bin on site for 14 days for the collection, I don't want to be charged extra from PHS if the landlord removes the bin themselves.

Also I asked for a copy of the latest invoice and they added a pre treatment charge of £59. They have charged me for so many things that I don't even remember if we usually pay this charge but I tried to argue that seeing our contract is cancelled why do I need to pay this charge as I am not using their service. All they said was you have to write in and from previous experience they never reply.

What can I do? I am going to deduct the pre treatment charge and pay for the lifts and enclose a letter explaining that. But I am worried will they take me to court over £59?? Sorry it is a bit long winded.

Thank you for your help!

SamStones · Jul 7, 2011

We got out of our contract by moving premises and it took them about 3 months to remove the bin from the old premises.

Have they explained what the pre treatment charge is?

I'd be tempted to send them a cheque for the final payment, include the £59 charge and include the terms "Full and Final Settlement" with your payment.

I presume they have agreed to cancel your contract based on the solicitors letter?

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phs wastetech problems any advice

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whistle blower phs

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