Summary: The complainant says the Council failed to collect his domestic refuse several times and gave inaccurate reasons for the failure. The Council says it recognised the faults and carried out supervision of its contractor to improve the service. The Council offered a financial remedy which the complainant found to be inadequate and after which he experienced further missed collections. The Ombudsman finds the Council acted with fault and recommends a remedy.

The complaint

1. The complainant I shall refer to as Mr X, says the Council failed to:
• Properly manage the collection of domestic waste from his home;
• Ensure contractors collect the waste on appointed days;
• Effectively oversee the contractors leading it to share inaccurate reasons with Mr X for the missed collections.
2. Mr X says this is causing inconvenience and mess which increases the danger of vermin infestations. Mr X wants the Council to ensure collections happen on the published collection days.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. If 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

5. In considering this complaint I have:
• Contacted Mr X and read the information presented with his complaint;
• Put enquiries to the Council and reviewed its responses;
• Researched relevant law, guidance and policy;
• Shared with Mr X and the Council my draft decision and reflected on any comments received.

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What I found

6. In August 2017 the Ombudsman issued a focus report “Lifting the lid on bin complaints: learning to improve waste and recycling services”. The report confirms councils have a duty to collect household waste and recycling without charge. It sets out the Ombudsman’s view that where contractors provide such services for the Council, the Council holds final responsibility for ensuring the quality of the service. The Council is accountable if the service goes wrong. While it can ask its contractor to address complaints the Council remains responsible for resolving those complaints.
7. The Council employs a contractor to conduct its refuse collection service. Under the contract the Council says it supervises the contractor’s performance weekly and through a monthly report. Where the contractor misses a collection, the Council applies a financial penalty on the contractor.
8. Mr X says the Council’s refuse collectors have often missed collections of waste from his home causing inconvenience and the risk of rat infestations. Mr X complained to the Council about the problems experienced in October and November 2018. Mr X says the Council’s contractor offered explanations for missed collections which the Council found to be inaccurate on investigation.
9. In response to Mr X’s complaint under the Council’s complaints procedure the Council arranged for six weeks oversight of collections from Mr X’s home. The contractor told the Council missed collections between October 2018 and January 2019 resulted from parked cars blocking access to the refuse collection area. The Council said that vehicle tracking data showed a missed collection on 14 January 2019 did not result from blocked access. Similarly, where the contractor told the Council it had collected refuse from Mr X’s home on 4 June 2019, his photographs showed it clearly had not. The Council says its contractor has met with its crew and stressed the need for accurate reporting and to take photographic evidence each week until it resolved the problem with missed collections.
10. The Council offered Mr X £25 in recognition of the time and inconvenience caused to him in following up the missed collections.
11. The Council accepts it missed some collections in 2018. However, it says the contractor only missed three collections. Since Mr X complained the Council has overseen his collections for twelve months and the contractor has only missed one collection. The Council believes this shows the supervision it has undertaken with its contractor has improved the service. Since August 2019 the Council has inspected the area every week to see the refuse has been properly collected.
12. To prevent vehicles blocking the access to the refuse bin area the Council has painted double yellow lines and it believes this has improved access.

Analysis – has there been fault causing injustice?

13. My role is to decide whether the Council has supervised the contract for the collection of domestic waste without fault. Where there has been fault, I must decide if the Council has taken suitable action to correct the fault.
14. Clearly the Council did not collect Mr X’s refuse when it should. To compound that problem the contractor gave inaccurate information to explain the missed collection and even claimed it had collected refuse when it had not. That is not the service to which the Council aspires and not what Mr X can reasonably expect. Contractors work as agents for the Council.
15. In responding to Mr X’s concerns the Council has undertaken weekly supervision and yet the contractor still missed a collection in September 2019. While there have been fewer missed collections since January 2019, there have still be some and one of which the contractor tried to deny (June 2019). Clearly the Council will need to continue close supervision and certify any reasons given for missed collections.
16. I find the Council acted with fault through its contractor’s failure to collect bins and offer accurate information about missed collections. I find the Council acted without fault in investigating the faults in its refuse collection service and took suitable measures such as long-term supervision of collections.
17. The missed collections and poor explanation have caused inconvenience and concern about risks of vermin infestations. The Council offered a remedy, but it falls below the minimum remedy the Ombudsman recommends.

Recommended and agreed action

18. To remedy the injustice arising from the failure to properly collect the refuse from Mr X’s home and offer accurate explanations I recommend the Council agrees to within four weeks of my final decision:
• Apologise to Mr X;
• Pay Mr X £100 in recognition of the failure in service and inaccurate explanations;
• Confirm it will continue to supervise weekly the refuse collection for a further ten weeks;
• Arrange for the Council’s street cleansing services to inspect the bin area and arrange cleansing if found necessary.

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Final decision

19. In completing my investigation, I find the Council acted with fault causing injustice to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman