London Borough of Merton (18 019 786)
Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling
Decision : Upheld
Decision date : 03 Sep 2019
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Ms B complained about problems with refuse collection arrangements after the Council brought in a new system. The Council failed to collect waste on some occasions and delayed telling Ms B about where collections would be made from. That led to Ms B having to go to time and trouble to pursue her complaint and feeling frustrated about the failed collections. An apology, payment and further monitoring if problems persist is satisfactory remedy for the injustice caused.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Ms B, complained about the way the Council dealt with changes to her refuse collection arrangements. Ms B complained the Council:
- failed to tell residents where to place their bins;
- failed to collect waste for several weeks; and
- failed to provide her with one of the new recycling bins which meant she could not recycle cardboard or paper
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- As part of the investigation, I have:
- considered the complaint and Ms B's comments;
- made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided; and
- gave the Council and Ms B an opportunity to comment on my draft decision.
What I found
- In March 2017 the Council approved a contract with Veolia for new waste collection services. Between July and September 2018 the Council delivered information to residents about the new waste collection service and the introduction of wheelie bins. When the Council delivered the wheelie bins it also provided an information pack about the new collection arrangements.
- The new waste collection service began on 1 October 2018.
- On 1 November complainant told the Council it had not collected her recycling for four weeks and the area was overflowing. Ms B also said the Council had not collected the wheelie bin provided for rubbish.
- The Council responded to that complaint on 12 December 2018. The Council told Ms B it had asked the contractor to remove outstanding waste from the address. The Council also said the properties would go on the list of addresses to be reassessed to ensure the correct collection arrangements were in place.
- Ms B asked the Council to take her complaint to stage two. Ms B said the waste collection arrangements had not improved. Ms B also said she was sharing a recycling bin and had not received a new bin. Ms B said the Council had not collected cardboard since the start of the new system.
- The Council liaised with the contractor and the managing agent for the property. During those discussions it became clear there were two bin enclosures in the car park for residents in the flats to use. The managing agent said residents knew about that arrangement. The managing agent also told the Council the bins delivered were not large enough for residents. I understand the Council has agreed for its contractor to provide larger bins when they are in stock.
- On 5 February 2019 the Council responded to the stage two complaint. The Council apologised for the delay. The Council told Ms B bin collections for the flats were not made from the bin cupboard and were instead made from the wooden bin enclosure near the parking area. The Council told Ms B it had provided the flats with communal bins for refuse and recycling. The Council said the managing agent for the flats should tell residents about where waste should be presented and should deal with cleansing of the bin cupboard.
Analysis
- Ms B says the Council failed to tell residents where to place their bins when it changed its refuse collection arrangements. Ms B says as a result she placed her rubbish in the bin cupboard rather than the wooden bin enclosure. Ms B said that led to missed collections. As I understand it though, the change in refuse collection arrangements did not affect the location from which the Council’s contractor collected waste from the flats where Ms B lives. From what I understand, there are two areas in Ms Bs development where bins are stored, which is what has created the confusion. As the change in waste collection arrangements did not affect the location from which bins were collected though I do not consider the Council at fault. Where I do consider the Council at fault is for failing to explain the bin collection arrangements in the stage one complaint response in December 2018. I have seen no evidence the Council made clear where the bin collections should be made from until it responded to the stage two complaint in February 2019. That complaint response was also considerably delayed, for which the Council apologised. Failure to properly address the issues in the stage one complaint and delay completing the stage two investigation is fault.
- Ms B says the Council failed to collect recycling for four weeks following the change of collection arrangements in October 2018. Failure to collect the recycling is fault, although I note the Council arranged for the missed collections to be collected following the stage one complaint. I also understand there were two further missed collections in November 2018. That again is fault and I note Ms B referred to another missed collection in December 2018 when submitting her stage two complaint.
- Ms B says the Council failed to provide her with one of the new recycling bins when it changed the refuse collection arrangements. As I understand it, not enough recycling bins were delivered to the development on which Ms B lives. Inevitably with changes in collection arrangements there will be teething problems in the first few weeks. I am satisfied the Council dealt with that appropriately though by arranging for recycling bins to be delivered.
- So, I have found fault in that the Council failed to tell Ms B where her bins would be collected from when it responded to the stage one complaint, missed some recycling and refuse collections in November and December 2018 and delayed responding to the stage two complaint. I welcome the action the Council has taken to address the issue of inadequate bins provided for the development on which Ms B lives. I recognise that has taken longer than Ms B would like and I understand her frustration about that. However, given this was a borough wide change it is inevitable there were teething problems. Nevertheless, Ms B has had to go to time and trouble to pursue her complaint and is understandably frustrated about the problems with the new arrangements. To reflect her time, trouble and frustration the Council has agreed to my recommendation to apologise and pay Ms B £100. The Council has also agreed to my recommendation to liaise with Ms B to see whether she is still experiencing missed collections. If she is the Council will monitor the collections for a three month period to identify any issues and resolve those with the contractor.
Agreed action
- Within one month of my decision the Council should:
- apologise to Ms B for the faults identified in this statement;
- pay Ms B £100; and
- liaise with Ms B to identify whether there are still problems with her waste collections. If there are the Council will arrange to monitor the situation for three months and address any issues with the contractor.
Final decision
- I have completed my investigation and uphold the complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman