London Borough of Merton (19 017 042)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Trees 26-Feb-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms B’s complaint that the Council has refused to remove a tree outside her property. This is because Ms B may take the matter to court and it would be reasonable for her to do so.

Cambridgeshire County Council (19 017 297)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Refuse and recycling 26-Feb-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint that the Council has discriminated against the complainant by requiring her to have a permit to use the recycling centre. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

Birmingham City Council (19 003 328)

Statement Upheld Refuse and recycling 26-Feb-2020

Summary: Mr X complains that although he should receive assisted collections, the Council has repeatedly failed to collect his recycling on the scheduled day or soon after when it misses collections. When the Council collects his recycling, the collection crew do not return his bin to his property. The Council’s repeatedly failure to make assisted recycling collections amounts to fault. This fault has caused Mr X an injustice.

Warrington Council (19 009 001)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Trees 25-Feb-2020

Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council’s refusal to remove tree growth from her boundary with a park. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council which would warrant an investigation.

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (19 010 357)

Statement Not upheld Noise 25-Feb-2020

Summary: Mr D says the Council failed to properly investigate a noise nuisance caused by a neighbour’s building works in 2019. The Ombudsman has not found any evidence of fault by the Council. He has completed the investigation and not upheld the complaint.

Lincoln City Council (19 013 639)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Pollution 25-Feb-2020

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s lack of action against his neighbour who uses a wood-burning stove. We will not investigate this complaint as it is unlikely we would find fault in the Council’s actions.

North Lincolnshire Council (19 015 107)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Antisocial behaviour 25-Feb-2020

Summary: Mr X complained about how the Council dealt with his and his neighbour’s security lights. We will not investigate this late complaint. This is because Mr X could have complained to the Ombudsman sooner and he has not raised a new complaint with the Council since 2016.

Crawley Borough Council (19 015 390)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Noise 25-Feb-2020

Summary: Mr X complained the Council did not take sufficient action to deal with noise from shops next to his home. He also complained the Council should have warned him about issues with noise before he moved into the property. We will not investigate this complaint. It is unlikely we would find fault in the Council’s noise investigation, and the Housing Ombudsman deals with complaints about the Council’s role as a social housing provider.

Plymouth City Council (19 016 453)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 25-Feb-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not consider Mrs X’s complaint the Council issued her with a Fixed Penalty Notice for walking her dog off lead in a dog control area. Mrs X paid the Fixed Penalty Notice and therefore did not use her opportunity to defend herself in court. It is reasonable to expect Mrs X to have refused to pay the fine and argue her case in court if she wanted to challenge it.

London Borough of Bromley (19 006 346)

Statement Upheld Noise 25-Feb-2020

Summary: Ms B complains about the Council response to her noise nuisance complaint. She says this caused her an injustice because the noise affected her quality of life. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council because it delayed in identifying and responding to the statutory noise nuisance. The agreed actions remedy the injustice caused to Ms B.