Brighton & Hove City Council (20 009 838)
Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 22 Feb 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mr X complains the Council repeatedly failed to collect his refuse. We will not investigate this complaint. The issues now appear to be resolved. Further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
- The complainant, I shall call Mr X, says the Council repeatedly failed to collect his refuse.
- He wants regular refuse collections.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered the information provided by Mr X, including the Council’s responses to her complaint.
What I found
- Mr X moved into his property in March. He complained to the Council in April that it was not collecting his refuse.
- The Council responded in July. Mr X stepped up the complaint. The Council’s made its final response in December. It said officers visited his address and noted his bin was not left at the kerbside, rather it was at the end of the front garden.
- The Council requires bins to be left at the kerb for collection. Officers said if he had not been presenting his bin at the kerb, it would not have been collected.
- Mr X says he always leaves his bin at the kerb and the Council’s suggestion that he is responsible for the missed collections is wrong.
- However, Mr X confirms his refuse is now being collected regularly. Further investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.
Final decision
- I will not investigate this complaint. Mr X confirms the Council is now collecting his refuse and further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman