Summary: Mr and Mrs X says their wheelie bin was damaged by the Council’s contractors and for this reason, it should not charge them 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 and Mrs X. He also recommended the Council amend its Recycling and Waste Discretionary Fees and Charges policy. The Council agreed.

The complaint

1. The complainants, who I shall refer to as Mr and Mrs X, complain the Council is charging him for a replacement wheelie bin. They say this is unfair because a replacement bin is required because its operatives damaged their wheelie bin. Mr and Mrs X say this has caused them an injustice because it financially disadvantages 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. As part of my investigation I considered the details of Mr and Mrs X’s 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 and Mrs 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 and Mrs X says the Council’s contractors damaged their wheelie bin when they left it out for collection. They told the Council and were informed a replacement bin would be sent to them.
10. A replacement bin was not sent to Mr and Mrs X and they contacted the Council to find out why. They were told that although the bin was damaged by its contractors the damaged had occurred because the bin was old and brittle. For this reason they would have to pay £49.99 for a replacement bin.
11. Mr and Mrs X were unhappy with the Councils decision and complained saying that its policy said bins damaged during collection would be replaced. The Council said it had dealt with the matter as per its policy and the charge would remain.
12. Mr and Mrs X escalated their complaint but the Council did not alter its view.
13. Mr and Mrs X remained unhappy and he approached the Ombudsman for assistance.
14. 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 and Mrs X with a Section 46 Notice as this was not necessary as it had not refused to collect Mr and Mrs 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.

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

Analysis

16. I consider the free replacement provides a remedy for the substantive injustice claimed by Mr and Mrs X. I therefore do not intend to investigate his concerns further.
17. 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.
18. In this case the Council did not refuse to collect Mr and Mrs 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.
19. 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

20. 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.
21. 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.
22. The Council should provide evidence of the above policy changes within 12 weeks of my decision.

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Final decision

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

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman