The Attorney General's Office has tips on what you can do if you were affected by the bid rigging and price fixing allegedly going on between two major trash collectors in the Southern Tier.

Eric Schneiderman’s office says Bert Adams Disposal and Taylor Garbage Service illegally and secretly divided up their territory to rig the market and rip-off customers with inflated prices from July 2014 to May 2016.

They also allegedly colluded on bidding for certain municipal contracts.

The chief of the antitrust bureau encourages victims to contact the company and seek a new contract.

He says if you have a contract, the company must now give you a price that reflects competition. This will differ from the past when you essentially had no competition between them.

While the fines collected through the case go to the state general fund, class action lawsuits could be an option.

Taylor Garbage Services released a statement, saying in part, 

"These events occurred several years ago.  No one from Taylor Garbage, nor the company itself, was charged or convicted of any crimes related to this incident.  When we became aware of the violation, Taylor Garbage immediately and fully cooperated with the Attorney General’s Office in a complete and honest manner, which was noted by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.  Recently, we have appointed a compliance officer who will monitor and ensure that all of Taylor Garbage Service’s business practices will be to the highest standard of ethics."

Bert Adams did not respond to our request for a statement.