Cllr Joan Collins: "Don't panic. Don't pay."
Intimidating letters from Intrum Justitia? Here’s what you do
Despite the long drawn-out campaign by working people who oppose the bin tax, thousands of householders are still refusing to pay this unjust double tax.
More threatening letters are on their way. Councillor Joan Collins says: Don’t Panic. Don’t Pay.
If you’re receiving these letters and don’t know what to do, go straight to the Bin Tax button on this site for details and form letters that you can download and send to the debt collector.
If you’re one of the 24,000 households who have received correspondence from Intrum Justitia, the debt collector engaged by Dublin City Council, below you will find letters that you can download and print off in response. If you have any queries contact me, Cllr Joan Collins, at 086 388151 or come along on the first Wednesday of every month between 3pm and 4pm on Clogher Road, Crumlin.
Reply to Bill Holohan & Associates
Solicitors
1st Floor
Block C
Ashtown Gate
Navan Road
Dublin 15
Client Account No:
Reference no:
/ / 2009
Dear Sirs,
I am in receipt of a letter from your company dated / /2009
I wish to draw to your attention the attached letter which I have sent to the debt collection company Intrum Justitia. As per this letter I wish to point out to you that the debt accorded to me is the subject of a pending appeal by Dublin City Council to the Supreme Court. Until the Supreme Court adjudicates on this issue, I am contesting the status of this debt to Dublin City Council.
Please note that I have received legal advice on this issue and I am requesting that you cease to issue any similar correspondence to me.
Your
The Occupier
Reply to third letter from Intrum Justitia
Your Ref:
Intrum Justitia Ireland Ltd.
First Floor
Block C
Ashtown Gates
Navan Road
Dublin 15
Date: / /2009
Re: Alleged Amount: €
Creditor: Dublin City Council
Client Account No:
Dear Sirs,
I confirm receipt of your letter dated ……/ /2009……………
I am particularly appalled at the veiled threat contained in the correspondence from your good self and would respectfully suggest that it is totally inappropriate and unacceptable that you would threaten to send a collector to call to my home. Indeed the suggestion that same could be potentially embarrassing is in my view, totally unacceptable.
This is clearly a civil matter and I would respectfully suggest that same should be dealt with in the normal course of events and I intend to formally defend same. I would ask that no correspondence such as this is to be sent to me in the future.
Yours faithfully,
The Occupier
____________________
The Occupier
As per advised by F.H. O’Reilly & Co.
Reply to first and second letter from Debt Collector
Intrum Justitia
First Floor, Block C,
Ashtown Gate,
Navan Road,
Dublin 15
Reference:
Correspondence Account no:
/10/2008
Dear E Ball
I acknowledge receipt of your correspondence dated ……day of …………2008 and note the contents of same.
I wish to inform you that the legality of these “charges” has been deemed illegal in three separate Circuit Court cases. It is subject to a pending appeal by Dublin City Council to the Supreme Court (case number 253/06, Dublin City Council-V- George Williams). Secondly, Dublin City Council must determine that household’s have availed of their service (as determined by District Court cases in 2003/2004) I have been very worried that my credit rating could be affected on the strength of this letter. This cannot be possible when the charges are illegal.
I also wish to bring your attention to section 11 of the 1997 Non-fatal offences against the person act,
“A person who makes any demand for payment of a debt shall be guilty of an offence if-“
(a) the demands by reason of their frequency are calculated to subject the debtor or a member of the family of the debtor to alarm, distress or humiliation,
(b) the person falsely represents that criminal proceedings lie for non-payment of a debt.
(c) the person falsely represents that he or she is authorised in some official capacity to enforce payment
(d) the person utters a document falsely represented to have an official character.
Please confirm by return that you withdraw the contents of the correspondence
Yours
The Occupier
Council attempts to intimidate
over 14,000 households
On September 15th, a public meeting of the Anti Bin Tax campaign agreed that since we had resisted all sorts of threats over the past eight years, we would continue to do so. And if Dublin City Council handed over our bills to a debt collector, we agreed to reconvene and organise a collective response. The householders threatened with non collection of waste agreed they would join the army of thousands who the council has left without a bin collection for the past three years and either dispose of their waste in the bin trucks on bin collection day, join the protest at Davitt Road depot every Saturday at 11am or bring their domestic waste up to Ballymount depot where they can dispose of a car-load for €12.
Dublin City Council has confirmed that it has handed over 14,000 outstanding bills to a debt collection company, Intrum Justitia, based on the Navan Road. This demand states: “Failure to make payment, may result in legal action for the recovery of the charge. This may have an affect on your credit ratings.”
Some advice on debt collector’s letters:
These letters have no legal standing. They are simply a request to make payment. Debt collectors are covered by the same legislation as money lenders, namely Section 11 of the 1997 Non-fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
What they can and more importantly what they cannot do could not be clearer. The legal position is also very clear. Arrears claimed by the council can only become a legally enforceable debt if the debtor is brought to court and a judge rules that there is actually a debt to be discharged.
In court, the council must prove that the charge is a legal one which it cannot do for the years 2000 and 2001. There is no way around that unless it wins its Supreme Court appeal against the rulings that the charges are not lawful on three separate cases in the Circuit Court.
Second, the council must prove that the person availed of its service (District Court cases 2003/4, the judge threw out cases because the council could not prove it had collected the bins) thousands of households have not availed of the bin collection for years and actually the council in fact stopped collecting of bins several years ago.
Our solicitors have confirmed that the council can have a debt registered against a mortgage only IF a court has recognised that debt. This means the debt must be cleared if the house is sold or deeds transferred or place the named person in Stubbs Gazette. The council can ask the City Sheriff to try to get payment, which is unlikely given the amounts concerned.
Debt collectors cannot enter a person’s home or seize goods. A disputed debt of these amounts will not affect credit ratings.
The campaign has drawn up a letter to respond to these debt collector (SEE BELOW)
letters(on the back of the leaflet). Please contact the campaign.
Don’t be bullied. The continued opposition to this double taxation is testament to the determination of ordinary people to resist stealth taxes and return the universality of our waste collection. That is, our waste collection, which is an essential service, is paid by Government, to the councils, through our taxes and recycling waste remains an integral part of our waste collection. Privatisation means our pensioners would be forced to pay the bin tax. Our pensioners have already shown the power of people power. Our campaign will oppose any attempt to privatise the waste collection in the Dublin area.
Contact Cllr Joan Collins Anti Bin Tax @086-3888151, Doloras Ryan @ 4553656 or Mary Smith @ 087-2917415
LETTER TO DEBT COLLECTOR
Intrum Justitia
First Floor, Block C,
Ashtown Gate,
Navan Road,
Dublin 15
Reference:
Correspondence Account no:
/10/2008
Dear E Ball
I acknowledge receipt of your correspondence dated ……day of …………2008 and note the contents of same.
I wish to inform you that the legality of these “charges” has been deemed illegal in three separate Circuit Court cases. It is subject to a pending appeal by Dublin City Council to the Supreme Court (case number 253/06, Dublin City Council-V- George Williams). Secondly, Dublin City Council must determine that household’s have availed of their service (as determined by District Court cases in 2003/2004) I have been very worried that my credit rating could be affected on the strength of this letter. This cannot be possible when the charges are illegal.
I also wish to bring your attention to section 11 of the 1997 Non-fatal offences against the person act,
“A person who makes any demand for payment of a debt shall be guilty of an offence if-“
(a) the demands by reason of their frequency are calculated to subject the debtor or a member of the family of the debtor to alarm, distress or humiliation,
(b) the person falsely represents that criminal proceedings lie for non-payment of a debt.
(c) the person falsely represents that he or she is authorised in some official capacity to enforce payment
(d) the person utters a document falsely represented to have an official character.
Please confirm by return that you withdraw the contents of the correspondence
Yours
The Occupier
Green Waste charges saga
In July, I queried a press release on the introduction of green waste charges issued by Dublin City Council (see my motion below). Several emails and a little research later, the council then stated that these charges would not be introduced until 2009. What follows is the sequence of events:
Press Release from Dublin City Council
3 July 2008
Green Waste Recycling at Four Dublin Bring Centres
We all have a role to play in managing our waste in the most environmentally friendly and cost effective way possible, and approximately 12% of the waste recycled in the city is collected through the Bring Centre network. Dublin City Council will be introducing charges for Green Waste (garden waste) at Green Waste
Bring Centres from the 16th July 2008. From this date, Green Waste presented at the Bring Centres off Malahide Road, Collins Avenue, Rathmines and Windmill Road should be bagged and tagged
with Green Waste labels. This does not affect garden waste disposed of via the Brown Bin service.
The Green Waste Labels cost €2 for a bag and €16 for a babyskip bag. They are for use exclusively at these facilities and are available from all Post Offices and selected stores displaying the PostPoint sign. Labelled green waste should not be presented for kerbside collection. The green waste diverted from landfill will be used with a combination of biodegradable material, including food and garden waste from Dublin City
Council’s Brown Bin Collection, to make compost. Dublin City Council will be giving out free 35L bags of this compost at the above locations, for a limited period.
ENDS
Motion from Cllr Joan Collins
This Council is opposed to a Green Waste Charge. A recent press release
announcing the introduction of charges this year was withdrawn on the
basis it was decided that the charge would not be introduced this year
but will be considered again in 2009.
Dear Cllr Collins,
Please see email explanation
below.
Regards,
Anne Graham
Area Manager
Anne,
Further to email from Cathriona on
Friday regarding Proposed Green Waste Charges the attached report advising that
charges will not be introduced in 2008 is correct and the proposed charges will
be considered again in 2009. A press release had inadventently issued regarding
this matter before it decided not to proceed with the introduction of charges
this year. If you have any further queries please contact me directly.
Regards,
Brian Hanney
Senior Executive Officer
Waste Management Services Division
T:- 2224475
From: “Cathriona Woulfe”
<caitriona.woulfe@dublincity.ie>
Subject:
Date: 18th July 2008
Time: 10:48:42 am
Hi Pat and Brian,
as a follow up to Wednesday’s South Central Area Committee Meeting , Cllr Joan Collins requested that the report be checked again (*see report below), and a further report be issued directly to the Councillor.
regards,
Cathriona Woulfe,
South Central Area
222 5189
Item 1113 Cllr Collins,
check details of report against the Press Release of 3rd July 2008, conflicting
information given.
Pat Cronin/Brian Hanney/Mick Boyle
DUBLIN CITY
COUNCIL
SOUTH CENTRAL
AREA COMMITTEE
July 16th
2008
1113. Councillor Joan Collins
That this Area Committee is opposed
to the introduction of charges for Green Waste (garden waste) at the Green
Waste Centres. The service has been in place for a number of years now and the
status quo should be maintained. The Council should sell the compost generated
from this waste to the public and other Council administrations throughout the
country (at cost price) to waylay any costs to Dublin City Council from producing this
compost. The Council is also saving
monies to compost Dublin
City Council parks with
this collected green waste.
Report
Green Waste charges will not be introduced
at our four Green Waste facilities in 2008; however, the matter will be
reconsidered in 2009. In relation to selling the compost generated from this
waste, I advise that this is being examined and I will report directly to the
Councillor in due course.
_______________________
Anne Graham
Area Manager
Contact: Brian Hanney, Senior Executive
Officer, Waste Management
Services Division, Tel. 222 4475.
ANTI BIN-TAX CAMPAIGN NEWS
======================
PUBLIC MEETING
CRUMLIN TECHNICAL COLLEGE,
CRUMLIN ROAD (opp the Gate Bar)
Tuesday, September 14th, 7.45PM
Call Cllr Joan Collins 086 3888151
Doloras Ryan 01-4553656
Mary Smith 087-2917415
=====================
Council attempts to intimidate 8,000 non-payers
Despite the long drawn-out campaign by working people who oppose the bin tax, thousands of householders are still refusing to pay this unjust double tax. Over 8,000 householders who have refused to pay a cent of the bin tax received letters this week from Dublin City Council threatening to pass on the outstanding bill to a debt collector if not paid in 10 days.
Don’t Panic. Don’t Pay.
This is not the first time the council has threatened this. It has used a debt collector based on the Navan Road before. A debt collector cannot turn up on your doorstep and demand payment or take items from you on the back of this letter from the council. The only person legally able to do that is the sherriff on the back of a court order.
In other words the council or debt collector would have to bring you to court and only if you refused to pay on a judge’s order can a sheriff be requested to redeem the debt. Since 2003 no one has been summonsed to court because of our ongoing cases. This letter is a tactic to shake the trees and squeeze a few more households to pay.
We won three appeal cases in the Circuit Court for our members who were summonsed for non payment of the bin tax for 2001 and 2002 on the basis that the charges were illegal. The council appealed to the Supreme Court.
It is most likely this Supreme Court hearing will take place in March/April of next year. It would suit the council if more people paid as it would be more difficult for people to get their money back, if we pay, and then win the Supreme Court case.
Don’t be bullied, come to the meeting, we will organise, as a campaign how we deal with this threat.
Over 13,000 threatened with non collection
The council has also sent out over 13,000 letters to households who may have paid a few Euros, but have over 600 euros in debt, threatening to cancel their bin collection.
Don’t Panic. Don’t Pay.
Thousands of households have not had their bin collected for nearly three years. These householders recycle most of their household waste.
- Many carefully dispose of excess black/grey bin waste into the bin truck on collection day or;
- Organise with neighbours to bring their black/grey bin waste to Ballymount and pay a small amount for a car load;
- Others attend the weekly Saturday protest at Davitt Road Depot. We meet 11am at the Marble Arch.
The continued opposition to this double taxation is testament to the determination of ordinary people to resist stealth taxes. It would suit Counsellors, political parties and the council if they could break this campaign before the local elections next year and pave the way to attempt to introduce water taxes.
Don’t be bullied, come to the meeting, Solidarity Is Strength
Council injunction against pensioner in 2008
Dublin City Council has gained a court injunction against Cabra pensioner Vincent Kelly. The injunction prohibits Vincent from putting rubbish into council bin trucks. But the council did not get three other injunctions it wanted which would have prevented anyone from putting waste into a truck or in any way interfering with its bin collections service.
This means the council doesn’t have a wide-ranging injunction which it could use throughout the city. If it wishes to stop an individual putting bags into trucks it will have to develop a case for an injunction against the individual concerned.
The Anti Bin Tax campaign recommends that people continue to put their rubbish into trucks and to use recycling facilities to the maximum. Only if you are threatened with court action on a serious basis should you give an assurance not to continue.
Council seeks injunction
against anti bin tax campaigner
Dublin City Council has taken Vincent Kelly, a retired bin worker from Cabra, to court seeking an injunction to stop him putting rubbish into its bin trucks.
If granted, the injunction would prevent not just Vincent, but anyone from “interfering” with the council’s bin collection service.
Vincent is being defended in court by the Anti Bin Tax Campaign, which has engaged legal representation on his behalf. Our legal team has argued that an injunction is a very severe remedy under the law, that Vincent has been doing this for over two years, and has even been advised by a council official to wear a hi-vis vest when doing so. So what is the great urgency to stop him now?
The council claimed that it was an urgent matter of health and safety, and that only its staff were trained for the job. But Vincent is an ex bin truck driver on the council. The upshot is that the judge has asked the council to go away and come back with details of its training programmes, manuals and so on. The case will resume in a few weeks and the campaign will call meetings to report on and review the outcome.
Meanwhile the council is sending out bills for the first six months of this year. Many people will now have arrears of up to €1,000. Don’t be panicked into paying. The charges are not lawful for the years 2000/2001. This is the case unless the council wins its challenge in the Supreme Court. That case should be held sometime this year.
Contact Cllr Joan Collins at 086 3888151
Dublin City campaign
against the bin tax
the long drawn-out campaign by working people all over Dublin in opposition to the bin tax, thousands of householders are still refusing to pay this unjust double tax.
Recent figures from Dublin City Council show:
* 115,000 households are serviced by the wheeled bin collection
* 30,000 have a bag collection
Out of the 115,000 serviced by the wheeled bin:
* 40,000 have waivers
* 25,500 have paid in full
* 42,000 have only part paid
* 8,000 have not paid a cent
So non payment is 11 per cent – overall non compliance including part payment is 66.5 per cent.
Clearly there remains a high level of resistance in Dublin – particularly in the bigger working-class areas of Ballyfermot, Cabra, Crumlin, Coolock, Drimnagh, Edenmore, Walkinstown, Ringsend etcetera.
We need to keep you fully informed on what is currently happening with our bin service and the bin tax.
Debt collectors’ letters
Dublin City Council has again resorted to handing over 880 outstanding bills to Justica Atrium, on the Navan Road. This company is a debt collector. If you receive any correspondence from a debt collector contact the campaign immediately. These companies cannot intimidate you or threaten to call to your home unless they go to court and get a judgment against you. (see campaign contact details at bottom of this leaflet)
Council letters
Some people have received letters from the council requesting a breakdown of where they dispose of their waste. The letter also states that if you do not reply within 15 days of the date on the letter that the DCC can take you to court for not complying with their request and that they have the authority to do so under the Waste Management Act. One of our members did not reply and was summonsed to court. He was fined over €500 but the Dublin 12 anti bin tax campaign organised a fundraiser to pay the fine. It is vital if you receive a letter of this nature to reply to it, stating that you recycle everything in the recycle bins and depots, you compost, you donate clothes to charity, bring back your electrical goods to shops – as you do anyway. Contact your campaign if you need anything clarified.
Supreme Court
We won a number of appeal cases in the Circuit Court for our members who were summoned for non payment of bin charges for 2001 and 2002 on the basis that the charges were illegal. Dublin City Council are appealing these cases to the Supreme Court. We are now waiting over a year for a hearing date. But if we win it will be very significant and will have implications for the legality of the charges up to 2005 when the pay-by-use system was introduced.
Watch this space.
Privatisation
As this campaign has argued from the beginning, the inevitable outcome of bin charges is the privatisation of the service. Private operators, (in the Dublin region, over a 100 have already received licences form the EPA) are taking over the bin collection service, one in Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown is operating. And another in South Dublin is attempting to take over the household collection.
This will lead to:
* a denial of waivers for social welfare dependants
* a lower cost service initially, followed by sharp increases each year
* chaos in our estates as many different bin trucks compete on the streets
* cherry-picking by private operators for the most lucrative areas
* a worsening of conditions and eventual loss of jobs in the City Council
For all of the above reasons, we are calling a city-wide protest outside the next Dublin City Council meeting which will be voting on the forthcoming estimates, including an increased bin charge. There are strong indications that this time around, Sinn Fein will vote for the estimates. They will do this in a cynical way by allowing councillors who represent areas where the bin tax is still an issue to vote no while their colleagues elsewhere will vote in favour. As far as we are aware Sinn Fein is meeting the city manager before the estimates are published.
We want our voices to be heard by those we elected to represent our interests.
Remember, if you had not resisted this bin tax, water charges would have been pushed through by now – and they are on the agenda for the future. So you can make a difference and make your voice heard.
Join us outside City Hall at 6.15pm on Monday, November 26th
Anti Bin Tax Campaign
Contact Cllr Joan Collins @086 388 8151, Dolores Ryan @4553656 or Mary Smith @087 291 7415
Resist Council threats
Last November Dublin City council issued a report that they were going to crack down on the 11,000 households who have not paid a cent of their bin tax. In the last 5 weeks DCC have sent Supervisor’s with the bin trucks to attempt to frighten people by threatening that litter wardens and police would stop us from disposing our waste into the trucks the following week.When challenged many of these Supervisors cannot say why that is the case.
To date NO litter Wardens or police have been out with the trucks in the Dublin 12 or 6W areas.
Part 1 section 3 of the Litter pollution Act prohibits littering in a public place.
Part 1 section 5 states “nothing in section 3 shall be construed as prohibiting (a) the deposit of waste in a receptacle or place provided for the purpose of such waste,…. provided that reasonable care is taken to prevent the creation of litter”
The careful placing by residents of household waste in a vehicle collecting such waste is the section that the campaign has successfully used to date to allow us to dispose of our waste into the bin truck.
The DCC are now saying that their legal advise challenges that section.
Don’t panic, Don’t pay
These tactics are an attempt to squeeze a few more household’s to pay up. These are dirty tactics because at the same time the DCC are still dragging there heels with the Supreme Court case. They obviously think that our case will win, so in the meantime they are trying to frighten people. Don’t fall for it, continue to dispose of your waste in the truck.
What to do
Keep your waste to a minimum
Use your green bin to maximum effect to dispose of paper, tins and tetra packs .
Use the recycling centres in Windmill, Rutland and Ballymount
Be careful around the bin trucks. The bin men are not obstructive, wait for the bins to come down from the mechanism on the truck.
If litter wardens do turn up, ask for ID. They have to have your name and address to issue on the spot fines.. You have a choice , either throw your bag in or do not throw it in and contact the campaign immediately.
If the police turn up, ask them how and why they can waste valuable resources acting as defendants of DCC. It is a disgrace that when many people ring the police, they are told that no squad car is available. Again you can throw the bags in or not and contact the campaign. Contact the police station and complain.
The campaign does not support the dumping of waste in our communities.
The campaign will respond through meetings to organise to resist these tactics.
PROTEST EVERY SATURDAY DAVIT ROAD DEPOT
Meet 11am at the Marble Arch, Drimnagh.
The campaign protests at the DCC’s non collection policy and we dispose of our waste at the depot. We have been protesting every Saturday since non collection began.
You can dispose of your waste at this protest.
Contact Cllr Joan Collins @086-3888151, Dolores Ryan @4553656 or Mary Smith @0872917415
