Summary: Mr X has complained about missed refuse collections. There is evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X has complained that the Council failed to regularly collect his household waste after he moved into his home in early 2018. Mr X reported the missed collections to the Council several times, but it did not resolve the issue. Mr X is also unhappy with how the Council has dealt with his complaint.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered all the information I have received from Mr X and the Council.
5. A copy of this decision was sent in draft to Mr X and the Council. I have considered the comments received in response.

Back to top

What happened

6. Mr X moved into his newly built property in February 2018. In April 2018, communal bins were delivered to the flats and the Council contacted its refuse collection company to confirm the arrangements for the property as it was not included on the collection schedule. In June 2018, the Council contacted the refuse collection company again as it had still not added the flats to the collection schedule.
7. Mr X contacted the Council in August 2018, to complain as there had been no regular bin collections for some time. He contacted the Council again in September 2018 as the issue remained unresolved. The waste was eventually collected, but the problems continued and further collections were missed. The Council contacted the refuse collection company and arranged for new wheelie bins to be delivered to replace the communal bins. It also said there should be weekly collections until the replacement bins are delivered.
8. Between October 2018 and January 2019, residents reported further missed collections. The Council contacted the collection company again and explained it should collect the bins regardless of how they are presented until the new bins arrived. The Council says Mr X has not reported any missed collections since January 2019.

What I found

9. Councils have a legal duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to collect household waste and recycling free of charge. The Council says that when a new property is built, it is the developer’s responsibility to inform it so the refuse collection schedule can be updated. In this case, the Council became aware that the new flats had been completed in April 2018. But, there was a delay before the flats were added to the collection schedule and the rubbish was not collected regularly between April 2018 and January 2019. This is fault. I consider it clear that this fault caused Mr X injustice as he was without a proper refuse collection service for some time causing the waste to build up. He also needed to contact the Council several times to report the issues. The Council has agreed to monitor the collections for the next three months and pay Mr X £150 for his time and trouble. This is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.
10. Mr X has also complained about how the Council dealt with his concerns. The Council has a two stage complaint process. At the first stage a service team member will look into the issues and respond within 20 working days. If the matter remains unresolved the complaint will escalate to stage two. At stage two a member of the Council’s commissioning team will look into the concerns and respond within 25 working days.
11. Mr X made a stage one complaint on 1 August 2018. As he did not receive a response he asked for a stage two review on 14 September. The Council responded on 19 October 2018. It is clear the Council did not deal with Mr X’s complaint in line with its policy. This is fault. But it has apologised for failing to send Mr X a stage one response which is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

Agreed action

12. The Council has agreed to place Mr X’s property on a monitoring list for three months to ensure collections are not missed going forward. The Council should keep a record of this monitoring and send this to me. The Council will also ensure the new bins are delivered as soon as they are available. The Council will pay Mr X £150 for the time and trouble caused as a result of the missed collections, this payment should be made within one month of this decision.

Back to top

Final decision

13. There is fault with how the Council has dealt with Mr X’s refuse collections. There is also fault with how it has dealt with the complaint.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman