Summary: Mrs X complained that although she should receive assisted collections, the Council has repeatedly failed to return her bin to the side of her property when empty. The Council’s repeated failings in the assisted collection service it provided to Mrs X amount to fault. This fault has caused Mrs X an injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X complained that although she should receive assisted collections, the Council has repeatedly failed to return her bin to the side of her property when empty. Mrs X also complained the Council does not always collect her bins from the side of her property and as a result her household waste and recycling is not always collected.
2. She complained that despite numerous complaints and assurances from the Council that the bins will all be returned properly, the problem is ongoing.

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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 provided by Mrs X;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided;
• discussed the issues with Mrs X;
• Mrs 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. Mrs X states she has lived in her home for more than 20 years and has always stored her bins in the same place. As there is no space for Mrs X to leave her bins at the front door, her bins are left on the side access to her property, adjacent to the pavement. Mrs X has been registered for assisted collections for several years and states the Council had routinely collected her bins from and returned them to this point without problem. However, she complains that since February 2021 the Council has failed to collect her bins, which means they do not get emptied, and when they are collected, it does not return the bins to her property. Mrs X is not always well enough to move the bins herself and is concerned she will injure herself retrieving the bins.
11. According to the Council’s records, Mrs X reported three missed collections in the last 12 months. However Mrs X states she reported more than nine missed collections since February 2021, and that the problem is ongoing.
12. In addition to reporting missed collections, Mrs X also made formal complaints to the Council about the assisted collection service. In early June 2021 Mrs X complained the Council had failed to return her bins after emptying them. She asked that the collections crews put the bins back as they had done in the past.
13. The Council’s response apologised for the inconvenience and frustration caused and confirmed it had passed her details to the depot who would issue a reminder to the crews. As this did not resolve the problem, Mrs X made a further complaint that her bin had been left in the road rather than returned to her property. Mrs X was concerned that that this was a deliberate act by the collection crew as her neighbours’ bins had been returned.
14. The Council again apologised for the inconvenience caused and confirmed it had spoken to the crew about the incident and reminded them to ensure all bins are properly returned.
15. Mrs X made a further complaint a few days later as her bin had not been returned following the collection that morning. Mrs X was upset and concerned that the collection crew were targeting her by taking her bin. The Council told Mrs X the manager would speak to the crews and remind them of the need to replace all the wheelie bins correctly.
16. Mrs X contacted the Council again in July 2021 as the collection crews were still not returning in her bins. Mrs X asserted it was no coincidence that every week since she had complained her bins had been left in the road or tucked behind her neighbours’ bins. Mrs X also complained that she had been waiting for a call back from a manager for five weeks but had heard nothing.
17. The Council reviewed Mrs X’s complaint and apologised for the service she had received. It noted the minimum expectation was that the bins were returned to the collection point after being emptied. The Council confirmed it had again passed the matter to the depot manager who would speak to the crews. The managers would also monitor the collections which would hopefully resolve the issue.
18. As Mrs X has continued to experience problems with her assisted collections she has asked the Ombudsman to investigate her complaint. She is unhappy that she has repeatedly reported the problem and been assured it would be resolved but her bins are still not routinely collected from and returned to her property. Mrs X also complains that despite assurances a manager would call her back to discuss the problem, she has not received any calls.
19. In response to my enquiries the Council states that assisted collections are not generally carried out from the side of a property. It states bins should be left by the front door or by the bay window and the crews are under no obligation to return Mrs X’s bins to the side alley. An officer contacted Mrs X in January 2022 to discuss her assisted collections and offered her two options:
1. stay on assisted collections and leave her bins by her front window, as there is no space to leave them by the front door, or alternatively
2. discontinue the assisted collections and present her bins on the pavement side of her front wall and bring them back in after collection. The Council suggested this would be easier for Mrs X as the distance to the edge of the pavement from her front door is less than the distance to the side alley from her front door.
20. Mrs X was unhappy with tone of this conversation and the Council’s assertion that she must store her bins in front of her window to utilise the assisted collection service. Mrs X states the area in front of her window is soiled rather than concreted and it would be more difficult for her to access her bins if they were stored here. Mrs X also asserts it is easier for the collection crews to collect her bins when they are positioned on the path to the side of her house, adjacent to the pavement, rather than behind her front wall and gate.
21. The Council acknowledges a manager was due to call Mrs X back in late August 2021 regarding a missed collection. The manager was waiting for an update from the depot before calling Mrs X, but the depot did not provide an update and the manager did not call Mrs X.

Analysis

22. It is clear from the documentation that there have been failings in the assisted collection service the Council provides to Mrs X. These failings in service amount to fault.
23. The Council states Mrs X has reported only one missed collection in 2021 and two missed collections in January 2022. However Mrs X has provided the dates of several more missed collections she reported in 2021. She states that when she telephoned the Council it was able to confirm all the dates she had reported missed collections. I do not consider the information provided by the Council is a reliable reflection of the extent of the missed collections and consider it likely the Council missed more than one collection in 2021.
24. It is also clear that the Council has repeatedly failed to return Mrs X’s bin to her property after collection.
25. The Council’s service specification for wheelie bins collection services recognises that some households may have difficulty presenting their bins, so the Council needs to make alternative arrangements. It states an assisted collection is

“the collection of a refuse or recycling container(s) by the collection crew from an agreed point in the front of the property and the return of the empty container(s) back to that point”.

26. The Council’s response to my enquiries states there is no requirement to collect or return the bins to the side of Mrs X’s property, and they should be stored in front of Mrs X’s window. However, there is no evidence it had previously advised Mrs X of this or that this was the “agreed point”. Until February 2021 the Council collected and returned Mrs X’s bins to the path to the side of Mrs X’s property without issue. It is unclear what happened in February 2021 to change this.
27. The Council’s responses to her formal complaints do not take issue with where the bins are stored, but rather apologise for the failings in service. In August 2021 the Council told Mrs X a manager would monitor her collections to ensure the problem was resolved. I have not received any records of this monitoring, but it does not appear to have identified a problem with where Mrs X stores her bins. There is no evidence of any discussion about where the bins are stored or request that she move them following this monitoring.
28. In any event, any issue regarding the correct storage point does not explain why Mrs X’s bins were left in the road or further up Mrs X’s street in front of her neighbours’ properties. The Council did not routinely return Mrs X’s bins to either the side path or the front of her property.
29. In the circumstances it is unclear why the Council would now require Mrs X to change where she stores her bins. While the Council may generally expect bins to be stored in front of the property, we would expect it to have regard to the individual circumstances and not fetter its discretion. It is arguably easier for the crews to empty and return Mrs X’s bins to the top of the path adjacent to the pavement, at the side of her property, than to the front of her property which is separated from the pavement by a gate and wall.
30. As the Council has previously been able to complete assisted collections with the bins stored on the path at the side of Mrs X’s property without problem, it should continue to do so.
31. Having identified fault, I must consider whether this has caused Mrs X a significant injustice. Mrs X has difficult in moving the bins herself and has at times had to rely on her neighbours to return her bins after collection. She has experienced frustration and disappointment that despite her complaints and reporting of problems the bins are still not returned. Mrs X has also been put to time and trouble in pursuing this matter.

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Agreed action

32. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs X and pay her £100 in recognition of the frustration and difficulties the repeated failure to return her bins to her property as part of the assisted collection service has caused.
33. The Council has also agreed to arrange to monitor Mrs X’s household waste and recycling collections for eight weeks to ensure the assisted collections are carried out properly and the bins are returned to the collection point at the side of her property.
34. The Council should carry out this action within one month of the final decision on this complaint.

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Final decision

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

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman