Angry antique dealer vows to fight hefty fine after taking trash from Frankston South nature strip
One man’s trash has turned into another man’s hefty fine for a career antique dealer, who was pinged after taking a stereo from a Frankston nature strip during hard rubbish collection. But the man is adamant he hasn’t broken any rules.
South East
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A career antique dealer has been left fuming after he was hit with a hefty fine for taking hard rubbish from a Frankston South nature strip.
And Michael Geddes, 56, has vowed to contest the $500 whack in court, claiming he had permission to take a stereo system from Fleetwood Crescent.
The Ashburton man accused Frankston City Council officers of failing to identify themselves when they watched him take the item after speaking with the stereo’s owner just after midday on June 14.
Mr Geddes said he mistook the group for “hard rubbish thugs” and was left feeling “intimidated” when he noticed at least four people sitting in two cars nearby.
“The (resident) walked out to the driveway and said to me ‘take what you want’ and I replied ‘thank you very much’ and they said ‘please take (the stereo)’,” he said.
“One of the men watching didn’t identify himself or say anything to me, he did not speak … I thought they were hard rubbish thugs.
“I wasn’t sure who these people were so I drove off because I was scared of being attacked.”
Mr Geddes was met with a fine in his letterbox about two weeks later.
“(The men) were council workers who’d seen me talking to the owners, saw me thank them for the stereo but still fined me,” Mr Geddes said.
“He should have just showed me some identification and I would have explained to him on the spot.”
Mr Geddes has doorknocked properties across Melbourne for more than 35 years offering cash to residents for their hard rubbish and keeps a receipt log of his purchases.
“I always keep receipts … this has never happened before,” he said.
The council confirmed four people in total had been fined for breaking the local collection of hard waste law, which includes prohibiting a person from removing or interfering with any hard waste placed out for collection without the consent of the person who placed the hard waste out for collection, the council or an authorised officer.
The law also states that the person who placed the hard waste out can only give consent when the waste being removed is to be used for the personal use of the person requesting such consent and the remaining hard waste is left in a safe and tidy manner.
Mayor Sandra Mayer could not provide a comment as the case was under review.
brittany.goldsmith@news.com.au
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