Not paying your garbage bill can lead to bad things, even if it doesn’t seem like a big deal compared to your rent or utilities. Picking up trash is an important public service that we often forget about. But problems arise quickly when bills go unpaid. There are things that can happen if you don’t pay your garbage bill.
Overdue Notices and Fees
This is the first notice you’ll get if you don’t pay your garbage bill on time: This is a notice that you need to pay right away to stop further action. Also, you’ll probably be charged a late fee equal to 1% to 5% of the unpaid balance along with the overdue notice. This helps cover administrative costs of collecting late payments. Once you pay the late fee, you can get back to normal service if you pay now.
Suspension of Service
If you still don’t pay the late bill after the notice period, your garbage collection service will probably stop. This means that the company won’t pick up your trash until you pay the amount that’s past due. Service that has been cut off is at best inconvenient and at worst dangerous to your health. If you let trash pile up outside your house, it can lead to health department visits and problems with cleanliness. You will still have to pay the past-due amount plus extra fees to get service back up and running.
Liens Against Property
Unlike other utilities, unpaid garbage bills can become a lien against your real property in some cases The garbage company has the right to file a lien with the town clerk or county recorder This lien attaches to the property title, meaning the bill must be paid off when you sell the home. Liens also damage your credit rating similar to other unpaid debts.
Turned Over to Collections Agency
Like a credit card bill that isn’t paid, a garbage account that is past due will eventually be given to a collection agency. These agencies specialize in collecting unpaid debts. Being sent to collections has a number of negative consequences:
- Aggressive collection tactics like phone calls and letters demanding payment
- Major damage to your credit score, over 150 points in some cases
- The full balance plus collection fees become due immediately
- Collection agency may sue you to garnish wages or put a lien on your assets
Having an unpaid garbage bill in collections makes it much harder to get loans, mortgages, rental agreements, and utility services until it’s resolved.
Misdemeanor Charges
In extreme cases, repeat offenders who continue to ignore garbage bills and collection notices may face misdemeanor criminal charges. While rare, some townships and cities have local ordinances that penalize not paying for garbage pickup. If convicted, penalties can include fines up to several hundred dollars or short jail sentences. Having a misdemeanor conviction on your record can impact background checks for jobs, housing, etc.
Restoring Service
Once you’re ready to restore your garbage service, you’ll need to pay any past due balance, late fees, and possibly additional service fees. The cost to restart service can range from $25 to over $100. You may also be required to pay a deposit or switch to prepaid garbage bills going forward. After bringing the account current, service will resume on your regular day. Expect delays up to a week or more during busy periods.
Avoiding Suspension of Service
To avoid having your garbage service suspended, be sure to:
- Open and pay bills on time
- Contact the company immediately if you’ll be late or missing a payment
- Enroll in auto-pay or recurring payments if available
- Apply for low-income payment assistance if eligible
- Pay old bills prior to setting up new service at a different address
- Reduce service level or frequency if needing to lower costs
Keeping the lines of communication open with your garbage collection provider makes it much easier to address any payment issues before extreme measures become necessary.
It’s easy to overlook a garbage bill, but the consequences make it essential to pay on time. Within a few months, you can end up with large fees, a lien against your home, collection calls, and trash piling up. While a criminal charge is unlikely, it’s still possible in some areas. Avoid headaches by making garbage bills as much a priority as other utilities. If money is tight, contact the provider right away to discuss payment plan options. With a few simple precautions, you can avoid the negatives of an unpaid trash bill.
Garbage Service Billing Process
- Haulers send out bills on the fifth day of the first month of every three months (January, April, July, and October). The invoice covers the next three months. Ex. January bill is for service provided January, February, March.
- Payment is due the 25th of the billing month. Your hauler needs to see the money in their bank account by the due date in order to get it.
- There will be a late fee of 5% for payments that aren’t received by the due date. This fee will be added to the end of each billing cycle month. Up to three late fees are possible per billing cycle.
- All bills that haven’t been paid by the end of the quarter are given to the City to be read. Your hauler can no longer take payment for that quarter.
It is now classified as a pending property tax assessment* with the city. Your hauler can no longer take payment for this quarterly bill. The City of Saint Paul will send out an Invoice and Final Notice to the resident. The resident then has 30 days to pay the pending assessment. After 30 days the pending assessment will be sent for approval through the ratification of assessment process to be added to the residents property taxes. During this time you can pay your bill online or by mail, for more information on payment options visit Assessments.
*If you have general questions about the assessment process, you can contact the assessment department at 651-266-8858.
If the City of Saint Paul does not receive payment of the delinquent charges by the due date on the “Invoice and Final Notice,” the City will send out a second notice titled Public Hearing Notice Ratification of Assessment. This will include a scheduled date, time, and location for a legislative hearing that residents are able to attend if they wish to contest the assessment. Please note that it is not mandatory to attend these hearings. The notice will include a webform URL to enter your request for a legislative hearing at the assigned date and time. Please call 651-266-6101 if you need assistance.
To contest the assessment, submit a request for a legislative hearing online or by phone 651-266-6101 and attend the scheduled hearing date. During your hearing, the legislative hearing officer will make a recommendation about the assessment. This recommendation will be provided to the City Council for their approval of the final assessment roll. You can go to the City Council hearing to argue against the legislative hearing officer’s recommendation if you don’t agree with it.
If the unpaid assessment is still due at the City Council Hearing, it will be approved by the Council, and the rest will be sent to Ramsey County to be added to your property’s value. If Ramsey County issues a bill to the property, it will have to pay extra administration fees of $2. 50. You can pay the bill with Ramsey County Property Taxes.
Garbage Assessment Inquiry Form
The City of Saint Paul gives you the opportunity to dispute any Delinquent Garbage Assessments. If you have received a notice from the City of Saint Paul (Invoice and Final Notice OR Public Hearing Notice) regarding a Delinquent Garbage Assessment and would like to dispute it, please fill out the form below:
Family gets garbage, sewer service but won’t pay the bill
FAQ
What happens if you don’t pay your bills?
Consequences of Missed Bill Payments Late fees. Phone, internet, or utility service disconnects or disruptions. Credit score damage. Inability to obtain new student loans if you’re behind on federal loan payments.
How much is a garbage bill in Oregon?
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20-gallon
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90-gallon
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Monthly cost
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$36.70
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$53.85
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Weight limit
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60 pounds
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175 pounds
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Do you have to pay for garbage in Chicago?
Chicago residences, which receive garbage collection services provided by the Department of Streets and Sanitation, pay a garbage fee of $9. 50 per month per dwelling unit. The fee will cover some of the costs of picking up recycling and trash from these homes once a week.
What is the garbage fee?
It is a way for the government to collect revenue under the guise of environmental protection. This fee is often added to a customer’s bill without their knowledge or consent.
Can I get incarcerated for not paying my trash bill?
Ask a lawyer – it’s free! Citizens and residents of this country are not incarcerated for failure to pay civil claims. The only recourse the trash collection company or agency (assuming it is a municipal agency) has to collect an unpaid bill is to file a claim in civil court and seek a judicial order requiring payment.
Should a trash bill be a mandatory expense?
It’s easy to think of a bill like your trash bill as an obligation when you have to pay it every month, but it doesn’t have to cost as much as you think. For us, going from not having a trash bill at all, to suddenly having to pay for trash pickup really made us think twice.
Do you pay for garbage?
AFAIK, you always have to pay for them to collect garbage. We pay for garbage/yard waste, water/sewer, electric, gas. Some people pay for oil, if they have old oil heating systems. Part of the joy of home ownership. That’s much cheaper than garbage around me.
Do you pay a company to take your trash to the dump?
We can pay someone to take our trash to the dump, or we can do it ourselves for free. They might charge you more if you recycle more. I’m not sure how they figure out how much to charge, but When we started, nearly half to two-thirds ended up being recycled instead of just being trash.
Can you accumulate garbage in violation of a city ordinance?
Yes, you can accumulate garbage in violation of many other ordinances and get your neighbors to hate you. Or get involved in municipal politics and get town trash services instated. In my area we pay per bag. You buy stickers for $2 each that you attach to the bag. I pay 51.50 a month, but that also includes unlimited sewer use.
Is garbage collection free?
Garbage collection is definitely not free. In some places you pay the company directly, where I live its included in my annual MUD fee (a hybrid of a HOA and town), and it looks like yours is done at the county government level. In some situations, like if you pay directly, you could opt out, but that may not be an option where you live.
