Summary: Mr B complains the Council failed to ensure its contractors kept to the terms of his agreed assisted waste collection. There was fault in the service provided to Mr B at the beginning of 2019. The Council responded appropriately to resolve it.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains the Council failed to ensure its contractors kept to the terms of his agreed assisted waste collection. As a result the bins were left in places which meant he couldn’t access his property. Or the garage door would knock over the bin which he was then unable to pick up.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the complaint by Mr B and spoke to him. I asked the Council to comment on the complaint and provide information. I sent a draft of this statement to Mr B and the Council and considered their comments.

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What I found

5. Mr B has a disability and has an assisted collection for waste and recycling from his property. He complained in February 2019 to the Council that the bins were not being left in the agreed location. The Council wrote to the crew reminding them of the correct location for the bins. The problem persisted and Mr B complained to the Council again in April. The Council monitored the collection once in May and the four times over August and into September. On one occasion the collection hadn’t taken place and on one the bin had not been returned to the correct location.
6. Mr B says that it has been much better over the monitoring period but there was still a problem that the bins were not returned to the exactly correct place which was important because of the layout of his property.
7. In responding to the complaint the Council has commented that the service provider recognised it did not have an adequate level of supervision and in June 2019 appointed three additional waste supervisors. The Council is making other wide-ranging changes and the crew that collects Mr B’s bins may change so the Council will arrange for a supervisor to meet the collection team on site on the day of collection to ensure that they are clear where the bins need to be returned to. It will also monitor the service for a further four weeks.
8. The service Mr B received at the beginning of the year was not satisfactory and is fault. But the Council has responded appropriately in giving instructions to the crew and then monitoring the service. It has taken further steps to ensure that the changes will be implemented properly.

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Final decision

9. There was fault in the service provided to Mr B at the beginning of 2019. The Council responded appropriately to resolve it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman