Summary: Mr X complains about delay by the Council in providing him with a larger waste bin. Mr X says he was put to time and trouble pursuing this with the Council. We will not investigate as the injustice caused to Mr X is not at a level that would warrant our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about delay by the Council in providing him with a larger waste bin. Mr X says he was put to time and trouble pursuing this with the Council.

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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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered what Mr X said in his complaint and the comments he made in response to my draft decision on it.

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What I found

4. Mr X requested a larger waste bin from the Council in February 2020 as the Council was moving to fortnightly collections. Mr X says it was not until mid-June, after he had complained, that the bin was delivered.
5. Mr X seeks an apology from the Council and a monetary payment to recognise the time and trouble he was put to. Mr X says after making his initial request, he made a further request via the internet and another by telephone. Mr X also referred the matter to his local councillor and when he still had not received his bin, Mr X made a formal complaint in June 2020. Mr X complains the Council failed to provide timely responses to his complaint.

Analysis

6. Some time and trouble is to be expected when a problem arises and a complaint is made. We would only recommend a financial remedy where the time and trouble experienced was exceptional. Mr X was clearly put to some inconvenience but I do not consider he was impacted to a degree that would warrant either our further involvement in the complaint or a financial remedy payment.
7. For this reason, we will not investigate Mr X’s complaint.

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Final decision

8. My decision is we will not investigate this complaint as the injustice caused to Mr X is not at a level that would warrant our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman