Summary: Mr X says his wheelie bin was damaged by the Council’s contractors and for this reason, it should not charge him for a replacement. The Ombudsman is satisfied the Council’s offer to replacement the bin free of charge addressed the substantive injustice claimed by Mr X. He also recommended the Council amend its Recycling and Waste Discretionary Fees and Charges policy. The Council agreed.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall refer to as Mr X, complains the Council is charging him for a replacement wheelie bin. He says this is unfair because its operatives damaged his wheelie bin. Mr X says this has caused him an injustice because it financially disadvantages him.

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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. As part of my investigation I discussed the complaint with Mr X and considered the details of his complaint and correspondence with us. I also considered the relevant council policy and its correspondence with us. I set out my initial thoughts on the complaint in a draft decision statement and invited Mr X to comment.

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What I found

5. The policy says that charges for replacement wheeled bins should be charged to the resident including replacements for age wear and tear. An exception to the policy would be for wheeled bins lost or damaged during collection operations. The charge is £49.99 for a replacement wheeled bin.
6. The policy does not provide any details on how the Council will assess if a bin was damaged as part of collection operations or due to age wear and tear.
7. The Council does not charge to replace recycling bins that are damaged during collection.

The Environmental Protection Act 1990, Section 46

8. This explains how a resident can challenge a local authority decision to charge for a replacement bin. It provides a right to appeal the charge in a magistrates’ court, if the council has served the appropriate formal notices.

Background

9. Mr X says the Council’s contractors broke the lid off his wheelie bin when he left it out for collection. Mr X did not witness the contractors damage the wheelie bin as he was at work. He notified the Council about the damage.
10. The Council’s contractor visited Mr X’s home to inspect the damage to the wheelie bin. Mr X was out during the visit and says his wheelie bin was damaged further during the inspection.
11. The inspection concluded the damage occurred because Mr X’s wheelie bin was old and brittle. For this reason it said that the contractor was not liable for the damage and that Mr X would have to pay for a replacement bin as per its policy.
12. Mr X was unhappy with the Council’s decision. He says that his neighbour’s bins are as old as his, yet their lids have not snapped off. For this reason he rejected the Council’s rationale and complained about its decision.
13. The Council did not alter its view and said that it had dealt with the matter as per its policy.
14. Mr X remained unhappy and he approached the Ombudsman for assistance.
15. As part of the investigation into this complaint I made enquires of the Council. In its response the Council said:

• The Council will assess bins that are damaged to determine if wear and tear is the reason. It will do this by assessing the look of the bin, how old it appears, if there is evidence of general wear and tear, if it has faded in the sun and become brittle, if it has the new council logo on and the type of damage.
• It will ensure the bin has been subject to the above assessment before it makes a decision that charging for a replacement is appropriate.
• It did not issue Mr X with a Section 46 Notice as this was not necessary as it had not refused to collect Mr X’s refuse. It says that it provides purple refuse sacks for collection of refuse while it decides if a charge should be made for a replacement bin.

16. As part of its response to my enquiries the Council also said it would use its discretion and provide Mr X with a replacement bin without charge.

Analysis

17. I consider the free replacement provides a remedy for the substantive injustice claimed by Mr X. I therefore do not intend to investigate his concerns further.
18. I am however concerned the Council’s policy does not provide any guidance or criteria on how it will determine the cause of any damage. To ensure consistency in decision making, the policy should have included this information.
19. In this case the Council did not refuse to collect Mr X’s waste and it has now provided a new bin. Therefore, there was no need it for it to issue a Section 46 notice.
20. However, if a resident refused to pay for a replacement bin, a Section 46 notice would provide a means of challenging the Council’s decision to charge. The Council’s policy does not refer to this.

Agreed action

21. The Council should update its Domestic Bins and Container Charges policy is updated so that it includes details of the notices that are required by the legislation and ensure these are issued where appropriate. It has agreed to do so.
22. The Council has also said that it will now replace all wheeled bins that are lost or damaged on collection day free of charge. It has updated its policy to reflect this.
23. The Council should provide evidence of the above policy changes within 12 weeks of my decision.

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Final decision

24. I have ended my investigation of this complaint as the Council has acted on my recommendations.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman