Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to Ms X’s concerns of a neighbour who places their rubbish bins out for collection close to her car. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has not taken action to address the actions of her neighbour in placing their rubbish bins out for collection on the pavement too close to where she parks her car. Ms X wants the Council to speak to the neighbour as it did in another case with a resident in another street.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant, including the Council’s response to her complaint.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X complained to the Council about a neighbour who places their rubbish bins out for collection on the pavement where she parks her car. She asked it to speak to the neighbour as it did in another case involving a resident in another street.
6. The Council responded to explain it did not have details of the other case Ms X had referred to but it confirmed it had no grounds to ask her neighbour to stop placing their bins out on the pavement for collection whether they were near her car or not. It pointed out that in accordance with the Highway Code, cars should not be parked on the pavement in Ms X’s location and that although it had no powers to take enforcement action because there were no parking restrictions in the road, it was Ms X’s choice to park contrary to the Code.
7. We do not investigate every complaint we receive and while Ms X may not be happy with the outcome of her complaint to the Council, there is no evidence of fault by the Council which warrants investigation.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman