Complaints continue to pile as residents face trash pickup troubles

Missed trash pickups have been a common complaint after two recent record-setting storms. While most companies have caught up, complaints are still rolling in for one local business.  

Customers with Little Dumpsters, a waste management company located in Parker, say after weeks of missed pickups, they can't reach the company to cancel. 

"The reason I decided to go ahead and cancel was because they didn't come to us for almost a month and I have eight people," said Melissa, a Little Dumpster customer, who did not wish to use her last name, "It was really really, really bad. It was all in front of us we could barely get our cars in the driveway." 

Melissa says it was over a month of recent missed pickups and Wednesday during the storm the company finally came to get her trash. 

She wonders why they didn't take the cans too while she has been trying to cancel service for more than a week.  

"I can't get ahold of anyone, I've sent them emails saying, 'Please come pick up their trash cans', that I want to be refunded the money," Melissa said. 

Melissa says she paid just under $400 for a year's worth of service and she would like to be refunded for the remainder of the contract.  

It's a similar situation for Aurora resident, John Fitzgerald, as his trash was overflowing until recently. He also had close to four weeks of missed pickups and now trash is gone, he's having issues canceling.  

"I did try to cancel and they're trying to charge me $50 to come pick up their cans and we've already paid for three months of service," Fitzgerald said.

CBS News Colorado reached out to Little Dumpsters on Monday, which explained that unprecedented snowfall was the reason for the delays. 

In an email, the company wrote: 

"We have doubled our equipment in this area to get them serviced yesterday and today. Please know we are doing everything we can to work with these customers that were impacted and to catch up this week."

"Over the past several weeks, Little Dumpsters has not been able to perform waste & recycling collection to many customers in your area and we sincerely apologize for this. The deep freeze on December 22nd and the significant snowfall on December 29th, coupled with the sitting ice/snow on the side streets that followed, has significantly impacted our ability to service some of our customers in this specific area. Typically the generous Colorado sun takes care of compacted ice and snow melt, but this was not the case with this storm. In fact, the local news reported this week that this amount of long-standing snow and ice has not been seen in and around Denver for more than a decade. 

Compounding your frustration, if you were one of the callers who was unable to get through to us or were on hold for longer than expected wait times, we are truly sorry for this. The amount of calls over the past two weeks overwhelmed our phone lines at times. To prevent this from ever happening again, we are in the process of upgrading our phone system to handle greater call volumes during peak times.  In our effort to catch up, we have brought in additional trucks to ensure your area gets serviced next week on your normal service day. We sincerely apologize for these delays, and we are aware of any inconvenience this has caused. Thank you for your patience and the opportunity to make this right."

Customers like Melissa and John don't believe it was just the snow causing issues. Both say they have had consistent problems with missed pickups and communication. 

"They would like pick and choose when they came," Melissa said.  

"They're terrible, they constantly miss you. Never know when they're going to show up," Fitzgerald said.  

A former employee, who didn't wish to be identified, told CBS News Colorado the issues behind the scenes were big for Little Dumpsters.  

"They owe me money, but I want to see people treated as they are," he said. "Treated with respect."  

Among his allegations, he says the working conditions were unsafe. 

The trucks weren't properly maintained and he was asked to pay for the diesel to power the trucks on occasion. He says the company also owes him flex-pay and holiday pay.  

In addition, he says Little Dumpsters prioritized routes for higher-income neighborhoods.  

"They keep skipping people and I've seen it first-hand," he said.  

Online, the company's rating with the Better Business Bureau is currently an "F." 

The BBB told CBS News Colorado this was due to a number of factors, including the volume of complaints, along with the fact the company had not responded to a single one.  

The BBB also told CBS News Colorado that it was investigating Little Dumpsters for false advertising or what experts refer to as puffery. The BBB says it is specifically looking into several awards the company has listed on its website.

CBS News Colorado reached out to Little Dumpsters on Thursday to ask about customers unable to cancel services as well as the allegations made by the former employee. The company still has yet to comment. 

CBS News Colorado also reached out to the Attorney General's Office. It encouraged Little Dumpster customers to file a complaint with its consumer fraud department. So far, there has been none.  

For more information on how to file, click here: https://bit.ly/2GLjmnZ