Summary: The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for the way it responded to Mrs B complaint about her waste collections. It failed to take action to resolve the issue despite upholding her complaint. The Council agrees actions to remedy the injustice caused to Mrs B.

The complaint

1. Mrs B complains about her waste collections. She complains the waste collection crew fail to return the bins to the correct location after emptying them. She says this causes inconvenience to her and the other residents who have to move them back to the correct location.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
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. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I spoke to Mrs B and considered the information she provided with her complaint. I made enquiries with the Council and considered its response with the relevant law and guidance.
6. Mrs B and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision and I carefully considered all the comments I received.

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What I found

Refuse and recycling collections

7. 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.
8. The Council commissions a contractor to carry out its refuse and recycling collections. It collects recycling and rubbish on alternate weeks.

Complaints

9. The Council operates a one stage complaints procedure. The complaint is investigated by either an officer within the relevant department or by the Information Governance Team.

What happened

10. Mrs B lives in a block of residential flats. There are communal wheelie bins for residents. Mrs B says it is agreed the waste collection crew will return the bins to the correct location when they have been emptied. She says the bins are not returned to this location and are left in a carpark space at the opposite end of the carpark.
11. Mrs B contacted the Council about this issue and spoke to the crew but it was not resolved.
12. In February 2020 Mrs B complained to the Council. It responded in March 2020 and upheld her complaint. It explained from July 2020 the contract with the existing waste collection company would end and the situation would improve because the Council would have more control over the day to day operations.
13. It said the waste collection crew should return the bins to the location they are stored/ collected from and they had been reminded of this. The Council apologised for the fault and the inconvenience it caused Mrs B.
14. In March 2020 Mrs B complained to the Ombudsman. She says despite the Council’s response upholding her complaint the issue is not resolved and the crew continue to fail to return the bins to the correct location.
15. In response to my enquiries the Council says it sent an email to the contractors in February 2020 reminding them to return the bins to the correct location. The contractors changed in July 2020 so there are no records from March to July 2020 because of the new recording system. The Council is not aware of any further reports from Mrs B since her original complaint.
16. The Council has asked the new contractor to remind crews to return the bins to the correct location. The Council has also offered Mrs B £25 her time and trouble pursuing her complaint. It would like to provide Mrs B with a direct point of contact if she experiences any further issues with her collections.

My findings

17. I find fault with the Council. It upheld Mrs B’s complaint about her bin collections in March 2020 but it failed to take action to effectively resolve and monitor the situation to ensure there were no further issues.
18. In its complaint response in March it reassured Mrs B the situation would improve in July when the contractors changed. However, this still left a period of five months with the existing contractors subject of the complaint. The Council failed to offer a sufficient remedy to resolve the issue in the interim period.
19. Despite the change in contractors in July Mrs B did not see any improvement and her injustice, having to move the bins herself or rely on other residents to do this, continued.
20. Mrs B has also experienced additional time and trouble bringing her complaint to the Ombudsman. This could have been avoided if the Council had resolved the issue when it upheld her complaint in March.

Agreed action

21. When a council commissions another organisation to provide services on its behalf it remains responsible for those services and for the actions of the organisation providing them. So, although I found fault with the service of the waste collection contractors, I have made recommendations to the Council.
22. Within one month of my final decision the Council agrees to:
• Apologise to Mrs B for failing to resolve the issue despite upholding her complaint.
• Pay Mrs B £50 for the unnecessary time, trouble and inconvenience she has experienced.
• Take action to resolve the issue. Ensure the bins are returned to the correct location and the Council monitors the situation to ensure it is resolved.
• Provide a direct point of contact for Mrs B in case she experiences any further issues with her collections.
23. The Council should provide the Ombudsman with evidence it has completed the above actions.

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Final decision

24. I find fault with the Council causing injustice. The Council agrees actions to remedy the injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman