I left a bad review for a rubbish collection company – what followed was the worst year of my life and now my young family could be homeless

A Melbourne couple who spoke out online after a trash collection company dumped 26 used mattresses on their driveway has told how they have endured the ‘worst 12 months’ of their lives as they fight to keep their home.

Laura and Jarrod Maultby shared photos of the wall of grimy mattresses left outside their Melbourne home following a disagreement with the service, Junk, last June.

The working parents of two daughters had asked the company to pick up and dispose of a small pile of disintegrated wood and were billed $514 when the job was completed.

The Maultbys claimed they hadn’t expected the service to be so expensive, while Junk claimed the price was outlined in prior paperwork.

In the service’s terms and conditions, it states that if a customer’s bill is left unpaid, it would leave an equivalent amount of waste back at their property.

It wasn’t long before 26 dirty, old mattresses were dumped outside the family’s Langwarrin home in Melbourne’s southeast, sparking Ms Maultby to leave negative reviews about her experience with the company.

Ms Maultby on Wednesday told Daily Mail Australia the 12 months since have been a nightmare with the young family having to spend $200,000 defending themselves in court after entities linked to Junk sued them for disparaging the business.

‘Look it’s harrowing, it’s been the worst 12 months of our lives to be honest,’ Ms Maultby told Daily Mail Australia.

Ms Maultby also told of the shock she and Jarrod got when they learned they were the subject of a Supreme Court of Victoria lawsuit. 

‘I think every-day Australians don’t expect that sort of thing,’ she said.

‘I don’t want to comment on anything specific but it was 48 hours after querying the invoice that the mattresses were dumped.

‘Look, I think given there’s two court cases and one tribunal claim against us, and you know, the fact you have to pay to defend yourself, it means we’re in a bit of a predicament and we may lose our home, it’s not the best feeling.’

Ms Maultby said they were happy to pay the invoice and move on but the issue escalated quicker than they expected. 

‘We’re not the ones suing so we didn’t instigate any lawsuit, we questioned an invoice, spoke out online and to save us from losing our house we’ve had to do a GofundMe campaign unfortunately,’ she said.

The couple now have to be careful what they say in public while the Supreme Court matter is pending.

In documents obtained by the Daily Mail Australia, Junk Group Pty Ltd have issued the Maultbys a statement of claim ‘pleading injurious falsehood’ and breaches of consumer law.

Junk, which has previously been contacted to comment, is also seeking loss of earnings due to ‘falsehoods’ it alleged the Maultbys posted online. 

According to the document, Junk alleged the Maultbys posted six separate reviews and comments about the business on multiple online platforms June 27 and June 28 last year.

Junk has taken aim at three TikTok sequential videos posted by Ms Maultby, a Google review, a TrustPilot review and a productreview.com.au review all of which have since been taken down from the internet.

Junk alleged the Maultbys made false claims in the various posts including allegations it ‘rips and scams its customers’ and the business ‘charges more than its quotes provided to customers’.

The trash collection company also labelled an allegation posted online that Junk owner Richard Furnari, ‘made many calls in quick succession’ to the couple in a ‘harassing manner’ as false.

Junk claimed it’s weekly revenue dropped approximately $25,281 immediately after the Maultbys posted their reviews.

Mr Furnari previously told the Daily Mail Australia his company collected the mattresses and they will recoup the invoice through VCAT. 

Ms Maultby last week launched an appeal for help after spending almost $200,000 on legal fees.

She explained on a GofundMe campaign that entities associated with Junk were suing her and her husband in three separate lawsuits across two states.

‘We hadn’t refused to pay the invoice, we just queried it and wanted to come to a resolution with the business due to confusing quotations,’ Ms Maultby wrote.

‘We shared our story on social media, asking for help and advice. Our story went viral, and several news outlets covered what had happened.

‘Since then, we’ve received numerous different legal threats from numerous persons and companies associated with the business, and have actually been sued in three separate lawsuits in different jurisdictions: one in the Supreme Court of Victoria, another in the District Court of Queensland by a franchisee of the company, and a third in VCAT.’

Ms Maultby said the Queensland lawsuit was ‘particularly absurd’, comparing it to ‘a franchised pizza business in Queensland suing someone in Victoria for leaving a bad review about pizza from a Victorian store’.

Despite the couple deleting their social media posts when threatened with legal action, it ‘wasn’t enough to appease the business’.

Ms Maultby said the Queensland matter has been dismissed but could be resumed in Victoria, and that the Supreme Court case is currently on hold.

With the possibility of further legal action, the couple have turned to fundraising.

‘The last year has drained our resources and nearly broken our spirits. We’ve already spent close to $200,000 in legal fees – clearing out our life savings, using our annual leave and borrowing heavily from our elderly relatives just to stay afloat,’ she wrote.

‘We are now facing the heartbreaking prospect of selling our already mortgaged home simply to defend ourselves and repay the family members who have sacrificed so much to support us.

‘This isn’t just about us, it’s about anyone who has ever tried to speak up before. No one should have to defend themselves in three courts across two states for telling the truth.’

The couple have so far raised $2,585 at the time of publishing.