Summary: Mr X complains that the Council has repeatedly failed to provide the agreed assisted collection service as it does not return his empty bins to his property. The Council’s repeated failings in the assisted collection service it provided to Mr X amount to fault. This fault has caused Mr X an injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X complains that the Council has repeatedly failed to provide the agreed assisted collection service. He complains that although the Council collects his bins from the collection point it then leaves them at the roadside rather than returning them to the front of his property when they are empty.
2. Mr X is unhappy that despite repeatedly reporting the problem the Council failed to address or resolve the issue.

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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 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

5. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and the information provided by Mr X;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• discussed the issues with Mr X;
• Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Refuse and recycling collections

6. Councils have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to collect household waste and recycling from properties in its area. The collections do not have to be weekly and councils can decide the type of bins or boxes people must use.
7. The Council's practice is to make a weekly household waste collection and a fortnightly recycling collection.
8. The Council provides an assisted collection service for people who are unable to move their bins and boxes due to a disability or age. The Council should collect the bins from the storage point and return them to the same point.
9. When a resident reports a missed collection, the Depot will ask the crew to return to complete the round as soon as possible. When the Council has completed the collection, it closes the report.

What happened here

10. Mr X should receive assisted collections. He complains the Council has repeatedly failed to return his bins to the front of his property after emptying them. Mr X is unable to move the bins himself and is concerned the Council often leaves his bins in dangerous positions where they cause an obstruction.
11. The Council has a facility to report missed collections, but not to report other problems with the collection service, such as bins not being returned. This can only be done by raising a complaint.
12. Mr X complained to the Council in January 2020 that his bins are never put back after collection but are left in dangerous positions where they could be hit by cars. He asked the Council to investigate and ensure his bins were put back safely. The Council confirmed a manager was aware of the problem and would speak to the crew to ensure Mr X’s bin was returned to the point of collection.
13. As this did not resolve the problem Mr X asked the Council to review his complaint. The Council passed Mr X’s complaint to a service manager who would ensure the assisted collections were carried out as scheduled and Mr X’s bins returned. The Council confirmed it would remind crews again to ensure the service improved. The crews failed to return Mr X’s bins the following week, so the Council arranged to monitor his collections.
14. Mr X made a further complaint in April 2020. He reported that the crews still do not return his bins after collection and that his household waste bin had now been stolen. Mr X was not prepared to pay for a replacement bin as if the crew had returned his bin correctly, it would not have been stolen. The Council confirmed it would provide a replacement bin free of charge. It also confirmed monitoring was in place and that it would speak to the collection crews again.
15. There were further problems with Mr X’s assisted collections, and he made a further complaint in May 2020. The Council confirmed it would again speak to the crews and arranged a further period of monitoring.
16. In response to my enquiries the Council states it runs an assisted collection report at the start of each month with an updated list of all assisted collections. It then manually adds properties to each depot’s hard drive so they can print off and add this to crew information packs. Assisted collection properties also appear on the crew’s mobile technology. It has confirmed that Mr X has assisted collection status.
17. The Council acknowledges the initial monitoring period did not resolve the problem as the crews still did not consistently return Mr X’s bins. However, its records show the crews returned Mr X’s bins each week during the second monitoring period. The records also show that Mr X reported a missed collection during the second monitoring period.

Analysis

18. The Council has confirmed Mr X is registered for assisted collections, so his bins should be collected and returned to the agreed point. This has not routinely happened. The failings in the assisted collection service the Council has provided to Mr X amount to fault.
19. It is unclear exactly how many times the crews failed to return Mr X’s bins, or for how long this had been a problem as there is no system for reporting this issue. But Mr X’s complaints to the Council suggest there were problems for at least five months in 2020. It is disappointing that the first monitoring period did not resolve the problem, but I note the service improved during the second monitoring period in June and July 2020.
20. Having identified fault, I must consider whether this has caused Mr X a significant injustice. Mr X is unable to move the bins so could not return it to the storage point himself. He has experienced frustration and disappointment that despite his complaints and assurances the problem would be resolved his bins were still not returned. Mr X has also been put to time and trouble in pursuing this matter.

Agreed action

21. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X and pay him £100 in recognition of the frustration and difficulties the repeated failure to return his bins to his property as part of the assisted collection service has caused.
22. The Council should carry out this action within one month of the final decision on this complaint.

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Final decision

23. The Council’s repeated failings in the assisted collection service it provided to Mr X amount to fault. This fault has caused Mr X an injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman