Milton Keynes Council (26 010 010)
Category : Environment and regulation > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 26 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about his request for a refund of the Council’s bulky waste collection fee. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault. And, Mr B has not suffered a significant injustice which would justify an investigation.
The complaint
- Mr B complains the Council has refused his request for a £25 refund of the bulky waste collection fee after his item was taken before the scheduled collection by the Council. Mr B says the Council workers had to visit this location to collect a different item booked by another resident, so their time was not wasted and the Council should refund the fee.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 an investigation if we decide:
- there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
- any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr B and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council provided the service Mr B paid for by attending on the scheduled day to collect Mr B’s bulky waste item. In such circumstances we would not normally criticise a local authority for not issuing a refund.
- And, Mr B has not suffered a significant injustice which would justify an investigation or the pursuit of a financial remedy by the Ombudsman. So, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault. And, the alleged fault has not caused Mr B a significant injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman