The owner of a trash removal company has hit back after his team 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 some wood waste from her property.
Mrs Stark claims the waste came to one cubic metre, but the company’s owner, Richard Furnari, said his team measured the waste at two-and-a-half cubic metres.
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Mrs Stark was under the impression the removal would cost $39, but after the rubbish was collected she received an invoice for $514.
“Later that day my husband was picking up our little girl from school and he opened the invoice, which shocked him. He just didn’t expect that amount at all,” she said.
“We’re good people. We wouldn’t rip anyone off.”
Less than two days after Stark’s husband disputed the fee, CCTV captured a Junk.com.au truck arriving at the Stark residence, where more than 20 mattresses were unloaded.
Furnari said in the case of the Starks’ wood, his terms and conditions were clear.
“In the event that the supplier has not been paid in full, the client agrees that the supplier can dump a similar amount of rubbish to what was originally collected back to the client’s site address without notification,” the terms and conditions read.
Furnari claimed that Mrs Stark’s husband, Jarred, didn’t want to pay the invoice.
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Mr Stark denies this and said the couple wanted more time to speak about it.
A Current Affair visited Mrs Stark at home a few days ago.
As our cameras rolled, the Junk.com.au team spontaneously arrived and began removing the mattresses.
“Is there more coming? I don’t know. [Furnari] dumps the mattresses because we dispute a bill. What’s next? I’m scared,” Mrs Stark said.
Speaking to A Current Affair, Furnari said Junk.com.au was “not a business where we can collect your rubbish for free”.
“For me to simply walk away from that client not paying, would be a stand down,” Furnari said.
“It would be an absolute insult to my staff and it’s not something I would be prepared to do.
“There’s a difference between stand-over and stand-up. My job is to stand up for my people, my brand and my business.”
Furnari featured on A Current Affair in 2021, when he was involved in another bill dispute with truck driver Wayne Webster.