Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) issued to Ms X. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Ms X, complains about the FPN issued to her by Council contractors for failing to properly dispose of business waste.

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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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Contractors acting on behalf of the Council issued Ms X with an FPN for disposing of business waste through her domestic waste collection service.
6. Ms X complained to the Council that due to misleading information provided by the officer, she missed the opportunity to pay at the reduced rate within 7 days as she sought further information about the possibility of gaining an exemption for her business waste due to its small amount.
7. Having viewed the body cam footage the officer was wearing at the time the FPN was issued, the Council did not uphold Ms X’s complaint, noting the officer had advised Ms X to contact the Council to see if there was an exception she could apply for and that he had not made any mention of an HMRC exemption note.
8. Ms X made representations against the FPN to the contractors who responded to her but in December they advised her that she had been issued with a final response with the penalty still outstanding.
9. There is no evidence to suggest there was fault in this process and no grounds on which to base an investigation. Moreover, if Ms X believes the FPN was wrongly issued to her, she can wait until prosecuted to present her case to the court which will decide the matter.
10. During the events described above, Ms X contacted the company which provides waste services to the Council about the collection of her cardboard. Due to human error a rescheduled appointment with Ms X to discuss the matter was not booked. However, this fault did not cause Ms X any significant injustice and will not be investigated.

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Final decision

11. 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