Bear Mess Express LLC
Terms of Service
Last updated: August 2026
These terms cover the cleanup services Bear Mess Express LLC provides to residential customers in Asheville and Western North Carolina. Booking a cleanup — through our website, by phone, or by text — means you agree to them.
We’ve kept this readable on purpose. If something here is unclear, email ben@bearmessexpress.com and we’ll explain it in plain language.
What we actually do
We clean up household waste that animals have scattered on your property. Our crew rakes and collects the debris, rebags it, places it back inside your own collection containers, and secures the container with a Bear Straplock.
We do not haul, transport, or dispose of waste off your property. Everything we collect goes back into your own bins for your regular municipal or private trash pickup. We are a cleanup service, not a waste hauler.
What we don’t handle
Our crews will clean up broken glass, soiled diapers, and the general unpleasantness bears leave behind. We do not handle used hypodermic needles, deceased animals, human waste, hazardous materials, or anything inside your home or garage.
If a crew member finds any of these, they stop work, photograph the situation, and contact you to sort out next steps. You are not charged for work not performed.
What we need from you
- An accurate service address
- Lawful access to the work area — unlocked gates, or codes provided when you book
- Pets secured during your service window
- A heads-up about any hazard we should know about
If the debris exceeds your containers’ capacity with the lids closed, we’ll stage the overflow neatly and let you know. Any extra-bag fees your waste provider charges are yours.
Booking and pricing
Current rates are published on our website and shown before you confirm. As of this writing: bag cleanup $139, can cleanup $189, each additional can $69, rush $49, and optional bio-enzymatic odor treatment $19.
The price you select when booking is the price you pay. If a crew member arrives and the situation is materially larger than what you booked — a full multi-can scatter booked as a bag cleanup, for instance — we will text you before starting work, tell you the correct price, and wait for your reply. We never increase a charge without your explicit approval.
Photos you send us are helpful but optional. Arrival windows are estimates. Rush service is a commitment, and it carries its own remedy below.
Payment
Your card is saved securely through our payment provider when you book. You are not charged until the work is complete and photo-verified. A pending authorization may appear on your account before then — that is a hold, not a charge.
We never see or store your full card number. Receipts are sent by email and itemize everything.
Text messages
We communicate by text: booking confirmation, which crew member claimed your job, arrival updates, completion photos, and occasional follow-up. You consent to these when you check the consent box on our booking form or text us first. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Message and data rates may apply. See our Privacy Policy for how we handle your number.
The Spotless Guarantee
If anything is still messy, text us a photo within 24 hours and a crew returns at no charge. If we still can’t make it right, we refund your cleanup fee. No forms, no argument.
If we miss a 4 hour Rush window you paid for, the rush fee is refunded automatically and we still perform the service.
One honest limit: a new bear visit after a completed cleanup is not a service defect. Bears return to places where they’ve found food, sometimes the very next night. That is not a failure of our work and is not covered by the guarantee — though we’ll always come clean it up again at our normal rate.
The guarantee covers one claim per service. We reserve the right to decline future service in cases of clear abuse.
Cancellations
- Before a crew member claims your job: no charge, authorization released
- After a crew claims it, before arrival: no charge
- After work has begun: 50% of the service price
- If we cancel — weather, wildlife on site, or anything else — no charge at all
Refunds are decided the same day and typically reach your card within 5–10 business days.
Photographs
We photograph the work area before and after every job. This is a condition of service: it verifies the work, protects you, and protects us.
We may use job photographs in marketing after removing identifying details — no house numbers, faces, license plates, or addresses. If you’d rather we didn’t use yours, email us and we’ll exclude them. Photos are kept for 24 months, then deleted.
The Bear Straplock
Every cleanup ends with a safety-orange Bear Straplock strapped across your container and clipped with a quick-release carabiner. It’s free, it’s yours to keep, and it serves as a temporary deterrent.
Remove the Bear Straplock before your trash pickup. A strapped container may not empty properly into an automated truck. The strap is printed with this reminder, and we text it to you when the job is done. Missed pickups caused by a strap left on are not our responsibility.
Wildlife — what we can and can’t promise
Bears are wild animals. We cannot control, remove, deter, or guarantee anything about their behavior, and we are not a wildlife control service.
Nothing we do — cleaning, odor treatment, the Bear Straplock, or securing hardware — makes a property bear-proof. These measures reduce attractants and make your address less interesting. That is the only claim we make, and we’d rather tell you the truth than sell you certainty that doesn’t exist.
If a bear is present when our crew arrives, the crew handles it safely and may pause and return later at no extra charge.
Independent contractors
Cleanups are performed by insured independent contractors we vet and dispatch. They are independent businesses, not our employees — and we stand behind their work through the Spotless Guarantee regardless.
Property manager and commercial accounts
Accounts are governed by a separate services agreement with its own rate schedule and net-30 billing terms. Where that agreement conflicts with these terms, that agreement controls.
Limits on liability
Our liability for any claim related to a service is limited to the amount you paid for that service. We are not liable for indirect or consequential damages to the extent North Carolina law allows.
Report any property damage within 48 hours with photographs so we can investigate while the evidence is fresh. We carry general liability insurance.
We are not responsible for delays or failures caused by weather, road closures, wildlife activity, power or telecom outages, or other circumstances outside our control.
If there’s a problem
Call or text us first. Most disputes end in about ninety seconds when a human is involved. We ask that you contact us before disputing a charge with your bank — we would rather fix it than fight it.
These terms are governed by North Carolina law, and any dispute belongs in Buncombe County.
Changes
We’ll post updated terms here with a new date. Booking a service after a change means you accept the current version.
Contact
Bear Mess Express LLC
Asheville, North Carolina
ben@bearmessexpress.com
(828) 532-5326