Summary: Ms T complains about problems with her assisted bin collection. The Council was at fault in failing to return Ms T’s bins to the agreed location on several occasions. It has agreed to apologise to Ms T and pay her £100 in recognition of the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Ms T complains that, despite being on assisted bin collection, the crews have repeatedly failed to replace her bins in her garden as agreed meaning she cannot use them.

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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 have considered the information provided by Ms T, made enquiries of the Council and considered its comments and the documents it provided.
5. I have written to Ms T and the Council with my draft decision and considered their comments.

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What I found

6. Ms T has health problems which affect her mobility so she cannot move her bins. In January 2019, the Council completed an assessment and confirmed she qualified for an assisted bin collection. This is a service for residents who struggle to put out their bins because of their age or disability. The bin crew will collect the waste containers from an agreed location at the property and return them afterwards.
7. Ms T says that, since January 2019, the collection crews have repeatedly failed to put the bins back in her garden. She says she has sent emails to the Council several times and it has responded confirming the bin would be replaced but this did not happen so she could not use the bin.
8. The Council says Ms T has reported that her bin has not been taken back to the agreed location four times since January 2019.
9. In April 2019 the area team leader contacted the crew and used in-cab technology to put alerts onto the system to remind them to put the bin back once emptied. He wrote to Ms T confirming this. However, Ms T says that in July 2019 the crew failed to return her bin to the agreed location, leaving it on the road. This meant she could not use the bin. She complained to the Ombudsman.
10. In August 2019 Ms T again contacted the Council stating the bin had not been left in the agreed location. An officer attempted to telephone her and visited the property but was unable to speak to her.
11. On 27 September 2019 Ms T reported that, over the previous four weeks, the bins had not been returned to the agreed location. The Council responded apologising for the inconvenience caused and confirmed the crew had been given instructions.
12. In response to my enquiries the Council says it has recently created a report for all its assisted customers which will pull through on a weekly basis so the service can assess whether any properties have been missed. It says crews will be held to account and a supervisor will challenge them if they have not recorded on the system why an assisted property has been missed. The Council considers this will prevent problems occurring in future.
13. I find the Council was at fault in failing to return Ms T’s bins to the agreed location once emptied. I am pleased it has put new procedures in place to prevent problems occurring in future. However, I consider it should take further action to remedy the injustice suffered by Ms T.

Agreed action

14. The Council has agreed that, within one month of this decision, it will send a written apology to Ms T and pay her £100 in recognition of the inconvenience caused and the time and trouble she was put to.

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Final decision

15. I find the Council was at fault in failing to return Ms T’s bins to the agreed location once emptied.
16. I have completed my investigation on the basis that the Council has agreed to implement the recommended remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman