You need a service provision in your contract so that if your vendor repeatedly fails to resolve an issue, you can terminate the contract with no penalty.

Waste haulers vary in their ability to provide quality service to clients. Some, like GFL, have excellent customer service, are easy to get in touch with, and are quick to resolve waste issues as they arise. Others are incredibly difficult to get a hold of, won’t resolve problems in a timely manner, and or cannot permanently provide a solution.

When repeated waste issues occur - and especially when they occur in conjunction with other common waste hauler problems - you need the ability to terminate the contract.

A service provision clause keeps the hauler accountable for promptly resolving issues. If they know you have the right to cancel their contract if they don’t resolve problems, they are going to be far more motivated to quickly provide solutions.

This kind of clause ultimately ensures that you aren’t stuck paying for terrible service. If you don’t have this clause in your contract, you will have very little recourse when these issues arise. If a hauler is less than amenable to providing permanent solutions, you will be stuck with them for the remainder of your contract until it expires. Since most contracts have five year terms, you could be stuck with an ineffective, frustrating hauler for years on end.

How can I tell if I have a service clause?

Take a look at the first page of your contract. It may look something like the picture below.

There will almost always be a section for notes somewhere on this first page. If you have a service provision clause, it will be here. In the picture above, the notes section is in the bold black square. As you can see, no service provision exists on this contract.

This clause is not something that comes on standard hauler contracts. It will only rarely appear in the additional pages on your contract. And it is almost always something you need to proactively request. Most - though not all - haulers are not proactive about making sure you’re protected in the event that their services are less than ideal. Very few will provide you an out if they consistently miss pick-ups or if other issues repeatedly occur.

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