Local Tip Vs Fog Stickers!

[gregster]

Our local council and their contractors (biffa IIRC) that operate the tip, implemented a change a month or so ago whereby you can longer take vans or pickups of any kind in there, and restrictions are also imposed on trailer sizes and volumes of some garbage that you want to tip. I think this might be something that is further spread than just my local tip though.
This means that I cant take my VW caddy pickup in there anymore which is a bit of a pain as its loads cheaper to run than the trucks.
I could apply for 12 monthly permits if the caddy was my only vehicle, but we have loads of frontys as well so I cant get one for it.

Anyway...
Sallys glitterball needed Mot'ing again, and the tip is pretty much next to the garage I use, so I loaded the caddy up with rubbish and then swapped cars at Sals school where she works, crossloading the rubbish into her truck stacking it kinda floor to roof in the back with the seats folded down.
Off down to sheerness to drop the rubbish from her car, which is a car and not a van or pickup, and then in for its mot.
The schedule was tight, but easily do-able...or so I thought.

Arrived at the tip, and imagine my surprise when I was told I couldnt unload it, and that her car wasnt allowed in the tip as it was a signwritten (hence commercial in their warped way of thinking)...
The signwriting was a Chrome FOG url on each drivers door, and one on the tailgate glass!!

So I had a truck full of rubbish, 15miles from home...and the truck was due for an mot in about 10 mins, something they couldnt do with it full of rubbish (need to check rear seat belts etc)...

I was livid...and explained that FOG is just an owners group, not a company and not a commercial enterprise at all...

The site manager would not budge though, his only suggestion being that I went out and peeled all the stickers off the car.

Not happy with his advice, but not being nasty to the fella as he has got rules he has to follow, I phoned the council on my mobile whilst standing there and explained the situation, but they wouldnt budge...if its got writing on it or a URL, then its signwritten and thats that.

The bloke said I could apply for a permit for it and then could bring it in the tip...that didnt help me with the car full of trash and an mot in minutes, which I explained to him...but no way were they letting me unload it.
I left the yard kinda wondering what the hell I was going to do for the MOT in about 2 mins time...



Luckily the garage were running late, so I had a few more minutes to play with, and the manager kindly gave me some masking tape and some a4 paper from their printer when I asked him, and I covered up the side stickers, and quickly whipped out the back window and left it at the garage.
So now it had no visible URLs...

Went back to the tip, one of the fellas who works there thats all right said "nice move fella"...but then his boss came over and stated that the car was still signwritten but I had only covered it up so I still couldnt tip it.

I said "what sign writing???"

He then said "If I pull that piece of paper off the door then the writing is still there..."

I then lost it with him...and told him that if he touched my car or removed anything I would report him for criminal damage, as he no place damaging anything on my car...even if was just tape and paper.

He then said well if I lift it and dont remove it, at which point I stepped between him and Sallys truck and said that if his finger touched her car then he would get it broken. ( I was running out of subtlety at this point...and the slack I had cut him for "following his rules" was now all run out to)

I then told him not to be an ar5e...and that he told me that the car couldnt have signwriting, which it have sorted as its now covered and the rear window removed.
I then told him that I am emptying the rubbish out now and that he can either watch, help...or join the rubbish in the skip. His choice...
At which point he said fair enough just make sure they are covered properly in future or get a permit...

So I launched all the trash into the skip (forgot to segregate it though...no time for that)...

And then finally off to the MOT which it passed good as gold.


SO, A WORD OF WARNING FOGGERS....
IF YOUR CAR HAS URL'S ON IT, OR ANYTHING ELSE, THE RULES ARE YOU CANT USE THE TIP.
YOU CAN GET A PERMIT FOR 12 VISITS A YEAR, BUT YOU NEED TO APPLY FOR THIS OFF YOUR COUNCIL IN ADVANCE...
OR YOU WILL GET STUCK LIKE ME WITH A CAR FULL OF TRASH AND NOTHING YOU CAN DO WITH IT.

Saying that the rules will probably change back at some point, as all these rules do is encourage people to flytip...I wouldnt do it, but loads will...and its costs loads more to pay someone to collect it from laybys etc than in does to just process a bit more rubbish in the tip.

[Dannyboy]

Must be different rules for different councils mate as ive had no probs at all and all my trucks have had FOG decals on em?

[gregster]

[gregster]

The point I was making really is to be prepared thats all...I wasnt and it was a pain...

Phone and ask first maybe, or drop in and ask at your local tip when you havent got a car full of trash.

Worst case, cover up your stickers before leaving home, where you have stuff to easily do it, sooner than being stuck at the tip, which might be miles away, with a car full of junk like I was, and then having to get "creative"...

Hopefully this bloke is just a nob, and taking the rules to extreme...and other places are more sensible...

Just be prepared or find out first

[Dannyboy]

Just sounds like another way to bum rape normal folk that are just trying to be law abiding, wouldnt suprise me if fly tipping becomes an issue around you bud, all due to ar53holes in ties with shiny pens!

[gregster]

Its definate mate....and then in a year of so when the council are ten times over budget on getting rubbish collected from all over the place, they will change the rules back...

But...bearing in mind a lot of flytipping occurs on greenlanes, this could be a cunning plan on the councils part to make them impassible...and then a reason to close them...

[colley]

Just say it is a commercial drop and give them the bosses name and address to send the invoice
Ste (Drift)
Liverpool
Blah
Blah
Blah
SORTED

[Mr Mud]

And they wonder why people fly tip in the countryside, that's probably the best thing to do because the council will have to clear the rubbish up in the end anyway

[Dannyboy]

Just unload it outside and throw it through the gate! thatll fooking show em bud!

[wideformat]

We have Tip Nazi's here in Oxfordshire, there quick enough to say what and where you have to put everything but there right in the back of the car if there's something that they may be able to sell for scrap,

[Mr Mud]

Is this the jobs worth moocher from the tip Greg.?

[gregster]

No this fella only had one nob I would think, and I bet it werent that big....

oh hang on...thats the fellas legs in that piccie!

[Mr Mud]

If you know who this is and you used to read The Eagle, your showing your age

[Gazeddy]

had this with mine at the tip yesterda. but the guy i was talking to saw sense when i showed him fog and the mudmuppets site

[manny]

I had this last year got a pass to take a trailer in so i cut all the trees down in the back and took the car trailer full. Got told the trailer was to big so i asked were did it say on the pass size of trailer as it didnt the boss told me it was his choose. At this point i unloaded the trailer in the middle of the car park and told him i dont mind taking the trailer home now.

[Mr Mud]

Good on yer manny

[fronteramac]

i had similar probs at both my local tips they said the fronty was comercial took my reg and a photo also gave me a leaflet and banned me !!!! went home fuming but read the leaflet which states 4x4 with no rear seats and no rear windows are not allowed....so sent a nice/nasty email to man in charge stating wot happened and what i read and mine has a rear seat also windows and his staff need training etc etc and got email back saying sori his staff made a mistake and said he will send emails to both tips making it clear to them and any probs give his name and number to any person refusing me entry in future so touch wood ive had no probs since but i keep his details in fronty with me .sounds like u had a rite little so an so greg mate

[Mr Mud]

A little bit off topic but this reminds me of the jobs worth that stuck a parking ticket on my windscreen when I was parked in a Boots car park, the ticket stated I had two weeks to pay the £30 fine, and if it's not paid on time it doubles to £60, so on the 01/10/2012 I wrote a stinking e-mail to Town & City Parking Ltd telling them that I had no intention of paying, I also pointed out this fine is in fact illegal, this is the e-mail I received from them today (took them long enough to answer)

"Thank you for your recent communication.
I have noted the points you raised and would like to confirm that we are cancelling the Parking Charge Notice"

So guess we do have some rights

[dave1966]

Ive never had any of these problems with my FOG stickers and trailers with my local council tip. So it could well be that it is rules set by the different area councils.

[adyclemo]

You could technically class any vehicle as sign written with the logos and vehicle manufacturers names etc they put on advertising their brand for free all day every day.