liability
Service Company Charging for Replacement of Asset After Not Collecting Asset Upon Request
<p>Our company had enlisted the services of a waste management company during construction. We had used their garbage bin, in Feb 2020, and requested them to pick it up as it was full on Feb 17th. They could not pick up as the load needed to be repacked, so they had left it. They said they would coordinate a pickup for Feb 18th, and no one showed up. They had since said on multiple occasions that they would coordinate pickup, and nothing was done. Fast forward to August, they sent an email saying their bin is missing. We assume the bin was picked up sometime early June, as the location had been operating for a few weeks at that point, and the bin was still in place.</p>
<p>This company is charging our company for their missing unit, stating we are responsible while it is in our possession. We had requested multiple times for pickup, and they had not done so. At which point is their unit no longer our responsibility? Or was it ever? As far as we are concerned, we made the effort to be on site to ensure they were able to coordinate pickup on multiple occasions, and the company failed to follow through.</p>
<p>As they have already charged the replacement cost to the CC on file without authorization, we are considering this replacement charge to be theft on the part of the waste management company and we are building our case to send to authorities.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any advice they can chime in with, one way or the other? Is the waste service not responsible for their unit once we had requested them to pick it up?</p>
<p>Much appreciated.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Is the waste service not responsible for their unit once we had requested them to pick it up?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/55437/service-company-charging-for-replacement-of-asset-after-not-collecting-asset-upo#comment111539_55437">absence of an explicit contract</a> and a gap in your description make it difficult to ascertain the parties' merits in this controversy.</p>
<p>It is unclear how your company did not notice <em>who</em> actually took the bin away. You mention that you [only] <em>assume</em> the bin was picked up in June. That in and of itself seems unlikely to overcome the reasonable presumption that a company usually is aware of what happens in its premises. Accordingly, it is predictable that the provider will focus on that presumption if the matter goes to court. You may want to ponder whether the lockdown due to coronavirus could weaken the presumption, although the timing at issue (i.e., June-August) suggests that this is unlikely.</p>
<p>On the other hand, your company has the valid argument that the provider repeatedly failed to follow up on your requests for retrieval. Furthermore, the provider acknowledged its awareness of your requests. Thus, the provider's pattern of conduct tends to forfeit recovery of its losses, at least to the extent that these losses could have been prevented by communicating more reliably with your company. This rationale is somewhat akin to the <a href="http://www.oneclubofjusticides.com/p/restatement-second-contracts.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Restatement (Second) of Contracts</a> at §241(c) and §242 from the standpoint that the provider's <em>uncured material failure</em> prevented your company from making substitute arrangements you would make had the provider communicated accurately as to when it would pick up the bin.</p>
<p>Lastly, the amount at issue indicates that this matter would have to be litigated in Small Claims court.</p>

<h2>Easy part first: there is no theft (or fraud) and the “authorities” will not be interested</h2>
<p>There is no hint of a crime in what you describe - you gave them your credit card details and they can use those in accordance with the contract that you agreed. This will invariably include a clause saying that they can charge the card for any damage they suffer which would include loss of the bin.</p>
<h2>Similarly, a charge-back from your credit card company would be unsuccessful</h2>
<p>The contract you signed gives them the right to make the charge and they can easily demonstrate this to the credit card company.</p>
<h2>Who is responsible?</h2>
<p>Probably you.</p>
<p>You will need to read your contract but I’ll bet dollars to donuts that it clearly states that you are responsible for loss or damage to the bin while it is in your possession.</p>
<p>If you don’t have a written contract (and the paperwork you received when the bin was delivered will almost certainly contain one) then you would still be responsible at common law as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bailment" rel="nofollow noreferrer">bailee</a>.</p>
<p>If you had explicitly put the bin owner on notice that if it was not removed by a specific date then you would no longer be responsible, you would have a case but not if you just asked them to pick it up.</p>
