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The owner of a trash removal company has fired back after his crew dumped more than 20 mattresses in the driveway of a customer who disputed a bill.
Melbourne mother Laura Stark contacted Junk.com.au in June to collect wood waste from her property.
Ms Stark claims the waste was one cubic metre, but company owner Richard Furnari said his team measured the waste at two and a half cubic metres.
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Ms. Stark thought the removal would cost $39, but after the trash was collected, she received a bill for $514.
“Later that day, my husband went to pick up our little girl from school and he opened the bill, which shocked him. He didn’t expect such an amount at all,” she said.
“We are good people. We don’t want to scam anyone.”
Less than two days after Stark’s husband disputed the charges, CCTV captured a Junk.com.au truck arriving at the Stark residence, where more than 20 mattresses were unloaded.
Furnari said that in the case of the Stark wood, his conditions were clear.
“In the event that the Supplier has not been paid in full, the Customer agrees that the Supplier may dump a quantity of waste similar to that initially collected at the Customer’s site without notice,” they can read in the general conditions.
Furnari claimed that Ms. Stark’s husband, Jarred, did not want to pay the bill.
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Mr Stark denies the reports and says the couple wanted more time to talk about it.
A current affair I visited Mrs. Stark at her home a few days ago.
As our cameras were rolling, the Junk.com.au team spontaneously arrived and began removing the mattresses.
“Are there more to come? I don’t know. [Furnari] “She’s throwing away the mattresses because we’re disputing a bill. What’s next? I’m scared,” Stark said.
Talk to A current affairFurnari said Junk.com.au was “not a business where we can collect your waste for free”.
“If I just left this customer without paying, that would be tantamount to abandonment,” Furnari said.
“It would be an absolute insult to my staff and it’s not something I would be prepared to do.
“There is a difference between standing up and standing up. My job is to stand up for my employees, my brand and my company.”
Furnari featured on A current affair in 2021, when he was involved in another bill dispute with truck driver Wayne Webster.