LEELANAU COUNTY --“I paid three months ahead. But like I said, a lot of other people paid a year ahead,” said customer Caroline Milliken.
A Northern Michigan trash removal company has customers up in arms over trash that has not been picked up despite some people paying in advance.
Sleeping Bear Disposal is under fire for not removing trash for what some said has been weeks.
Even worse, communication was muted, some paying customers were left in the dark for weeks with no response.
“It would just go straight to voicemail. I tried emailing, I tried doing private messenger on Facebook, I tried texting, I tried calling, and just nothing, it just stopped. I’m sure they got inundated with calls and everything,” said Milliken.
Hundreds of messages between multiple Facebook groups with the same problem, no trash pickup from Sleeping Bear Disposal for what some said has been up to five weeks.
Many are left wondering why service was suspended.
Some worried about the owner, others want to know why there has been no communication.
“It sucks when they just don’t call and don’t show. And nothing, even a letter or a mass message on our Facebook social group, you know, it would have been great,” said Milliken.
With trash piled up for weeks the effects were less than desirable.
“It was more kind of embarrassing because your neighbors are looking at your stuff in your yard and you’re like, man, I don’t know what to do. You know, I’ve paid this company to come and take it.”
Blout wishes he had been more up front. He waited to respond to see if he could sort out the problem and come up with the funds to save his business.
“The equipment issues were our biggest thing, we tried to remedy that,” said Blout. “We were trying to get it fixed, but it was a bigger equipment failure, and we just didn’t have extra or the extra capital to get another truck or to repair the truck that we had.”
Blout said Sleeping Bear Disposal is officially out of business now and here’s the reason he failed to respond to paying customers.
“I am only a one-person operation so trying to get back to everybody was very tough.”
But what about the money, Blout said he believes there are roughly 150 people who prepaid for trash removal, some paying as much as a year in advance.
" We are going to try to get everyone paid back as soon as we can.” said Blout. “But like I said, with equipment failure and stuff, we don’t have the full amount to give to every single customer up front, but we do plan to make it right with people. It’s just not going to be immediate.”
When asked when customers would be refunded, Blout didn’t have an exact date.
“I’m hoping max a year’s time. I’m hoping it will be before, but right now, I don’t have an exact timeframe.”
Blout had one last thing to say to customers who supported his business.
" I mean, it’s just a little disappointing, but you can’t change what’s happening, you’re buying equipment, the garbage trucks or brand-new ones are hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s hard to get pre-approved for loans for new businesses as well. I did the best I could and I’m sorry to the community that I wasn’t able to continue."