Summary: Mrs X complained the Council repeatedly missed her garden waste collections and did not return after she reported them. The Council was at fault for failing to provide an adequate collection service, respond to Mrs X’s first complaint or issue a refund when it said it would. This caused Mrs X avoidable frustration and meant she went to time and trouble to report the missed collections. The Council has now refunded Mrs X the cost of the garden waste collections which partially remedies her injustice. The Council will also apologise.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council repeatedly missed her garden waste collections and did not return after she report them. Mrs X said this was frustrating, particularly given she paid for the service.

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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. We cannot question whether an organisation’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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)
5. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. Mrs X complained the Council's garden waste collection service had been poor for a few years. I have not seen any reason to exercise discretion to investigate the entire period. I have therefore investigated the period from September 2020 to September 2021, a year before Mrs X complained to the Ombudsman.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have considered:
• all the information Mrs X provided and discussed the complaint with her;
• the Council’s comments about the complaint and the supporting documents it provided; and
• the Council’s policies, relevant law and guidance and the Ombudsman's guidance on remedies.
7. Mrs X and the organisation 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

Relevant law and guidance

8. Councils have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to collect household waste and recycling from properties in their area. Councils can also provide garden waste collections and may choose to charge for this service.
9. The Council charged £52 for 25 garden waste collections per year. This equates to £2.08 per collection. The subscription period ran from 1 April to 31 March with a gap at Christmas. The Council's terms and conditions stated it would not issue a refund if it missed a collection but would attempt to visit again within two working days to collect the waste.
10. The Council has a two stage complaints process. It will respond to complaints at stage one in ten working days and stage two in twenty working days.

What happened

11. Mrs X complained to the Council about its repeatedly missing her garden waste collections in late June 2021. She contacted the Council twice in August to say it was still missing her collections. The Council responded in late August to apologise for not responding to her stage one complaint. It said it would now respond at stage two instead.
12. The Council replied to Mrs X’s complaint in early September. It said cars parked on her road prevented its lorries accessing the bins. It said it was looking at options, but may have to end the garden waste service to her street.
13. The Council sent a letter a few days later to confirm it was ending the garden waste collections and said it would issue Mrs X a refund of the annual subscription fee. It did not make the payment until March 2022, after the Ombudsman became involved. The Council told me it decided to end the garden waste collection after visiting Mrs X’s street, considering the repeated reports of missed collections from people living there as well as reports of access issues from the bin lorry drivers.
14. Mrs X remained dissatisfied and complained to the Ombudsman. She said in addition to repeatedly missing collections, the Council was not consistently visiting after she reported a missed collection. Mrs X also said she was at an age where moving the bin on and off the pavement was challenging. She had to rely on a neighbour taking the waste that should have been collected to the local tip.
15. Records show that from September 2020 to September 2021, the Council missed seven garden waste collections at Mrs X’s property, starting in early March 2021. Records also show the Council attempted to revisit Mrs X’s property on four occasions after she reported a missed collection.

My findings

16. Although garden waste is not a statutory service, it is reasonable for residents to expect to receive a service they pay for. The Council missed seven of Mrs X’s garden waste collections between March and September 2021. There is also no evidence it attempted to revisit her property to reattempt collection on three occasions. The Council says it was not able to access Mrs X’s property due to cars parked on her street. This is outside of the Council's control, but I nonetheless consider the missed collections and occasions when it did not attempt a recollection constitute a failure to provide an adequate service. This fault caused Mrs X frustration and meant she went to undue time and trouble reporting the missed collections.
17. The Ombudsman cannot question a council's decision if it is made without fault. Following Mrs X’s complaint, the Council decided the garden waste service was no longer viable and cancelled it. In deciding to cancel the service, the Council considered the relevant information including the parking situation on Mrs X’s street, the repeated reports of missed collections it received, and the lorry driver’s feedback. The Council's decision to end the service was made without fault so I cannot question it.
18. As a result of its decision, the Council refunded the £52 subscription fee Mrs X paid for the period from April 2021 to March 2022. It did not do this until March 2022, six months after it said it would. This was fault and caused Mrs X avoidable frustration. The missed collections between March and September 2021 represent a cost of £14.56 so I am satisfied that in part, the refund suitably remedies the injustice the fault described in paragraph sixteen caused Mrs X. However, loss of a paid service is a particularly frustrating experience, for which the Council should also apologise.
19. The Council's complaints handling was poor. Mrs X complained in June 2021 and the Council did not respond her stage one complaint. This was fault, which caused Mrs X frustration and meant she had to continue reporting missed collections. The Council apologised in late August and escalated her complaint to stage two, which it sent promptly in early September. The Council's apology suitably remedied Mrs X’s injustice so I have not made a further recommendation.

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Agreed action

20. Within one month of the date of my final decision the Council will apologise to Mrs X for the frustration and time and trouble she went to as a result of its failure to provide an adequate garden waste collection service or issue its refund in a timely way.

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Final decision

21. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault leading to personal injustice. I have recommended action to remedy that injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman