A man is warning all Australians to check their council costs soon after his nightmare experience with a bin saw him charged double what he should’ve been.
It took 12 many years for Geoff Oppert to realise Kiama Council, on NSW‘s south coastline, experienced been billing him for two pink lid basic waste bins alternatively of just one, leaving him with a $16,610 bill.
Mr Oppert raised the challenge with his regional council but was refused a refund for extra than two many years.
A one crimson lid bin was supposed to have expense the Oppert household $8,000 but the double-up intended he was thousands of bucks out of pocket.
Mr Oppert took his struggle to A Current Affair and was ultimately presented a refund for the mix-up but he warned other people to ‘examine your fees notice’ to make certain they stay clear of a very similar fate.
Geoff Oppert had been billed for two purple lid basic squander bins instead of a person, leaving him with a invoice of $16,610 above 12 many years
Mr Oppert reported the price experienced slipped under his radar for so prolonged for the reason that of the ‘bureaucratic jargon’ in council notices, but he instantly requested a refund once noticing a little something was erroneous.
‘In whole, we used $16,000 on garbage disposal over 12 a long time, which need to have only been half,’ Mr Oppert told A Current Affair.
‘However, they would only offer us with a reimbursement for two many years and cited a tax statute as the explanation, it is unjust and just basic erroneous.
‘It was not our fault — they built the slip-up and admitted it — [so] study your costs discover to guarantee you’re not currently being taken edge of.’
A Kiama Municipal Council spokesperson defended what experienced took place, detailing that the onus was on Mr Oppert to test his charges.
‘Like any monthly bill or bank statement, the onus is on the purchaser to verify their documentation and notify the issuing authority of any discrepancies,’ the spokesperson reported.
‘When this make any difference was brought to our notice, Kiama Council acted and refunded the quantities of $805.72 for 2021-22 and $818.61 for 2022-23.’
Likely ahead, the council also dedicated to checking if any person else in Kiama was in the same way remaining above charged.
‘In addition, Kiama Council is now performing on an audit of all our urban and household squander providers to be certain our fees are proper,’ the spokesperson said.
Just one red lid bin would have price just $8,000 in the same period of time, leaving Mr Oppert hundreds of pounds out of pocket after Kiama’s Council only refunded the final two many years