Summary: Ms X complained the Council has missed bin collections and its customer service is poor. The Council’s failure to routinely provide bin collections is fault which caused Ms X distress and put her to avoidable time and trouble.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council missed many bin collections and continued to do so even after the fault has been identified.
2. Ms X also said the customer service has been poor and the Council delayed in responding to her complaint, causing frustration.
3. Ms X sought regular rubbish collections to take place according to the schedule and for customer service to be improved.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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)
5. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

6. As part of the investigation I have considered the following:
• The complaint and the documents provided by the complainant.
• Documents provided by the Council and its comments in response to my enquiries.
• The Environmental Protection Act 1990.
7. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

8. Councils have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to collect household waste and recycling from properties in their area. The collections do not have to be weekly and councils can decide the type of bins or boxes people must use.
9. The Council said Ms X’s property should receive weekly waste collections.
10. The Council’s complaints policy says a complainant will receive an acknowledgement of their complaint within three working days. Wherever possible, the Council will respond within 15 working days. If the Council cannot do so, it will explain why, and tell the complainant when it will send a full response.

What happened

11. I have summarised below the key events; this is not intended to be a detailed account.
12. Ms X lives in a one-bedroom flat above a shop in the city centre. The flat has no outside bin storage. Waste remains inside the flat until Ms X presents if for collection.
13. Ms X says there have been 15 instances of non-collection of waste between April 2021 and December 2021. The Council has provided records for the period February 2020 to November 2021 which show 15 instances the crew returned to collect reported missed collections.
14. Ms X’s rubbish was left on the street when it was not collected. This smelt bad in summer and strained relationships with Ms X’s neighbours. On several occasions, Ms X took uncollected recycling to the recycling centre. This cost Ms X time and fuel.
15. Ms X reported the missed collections to the Council over the telephone. She says reporting a missed bin collection was time consuming and could take up to half an hour each time. Ms X says Officers transferred some of her calls to an answering machine and she did not receive responses to her messages. Ms X says this was time consuming and frustrating.
16. Ms X complained to the Council in July 2021. The Council sent its stage one response in September 2021 and stage two response in October 2021. The Council said it had investigated the matter and explained one reason for the poor service is because there is a driver shortage, staff are moving teams and learning new routes. The Council explained the action it is taking to correct the issue. It said the Contractor Supervisor checked the location on collection days to ensure the crew collected the waste. The Contracts Officer also monitored the collections for a two-month period. The Contract Officer highlighted the property to the collection crews who service the property. If the Waste and Recycling Team did not collect the waste, the Street Cleansing Team collected the waste on their round. The Council apologised for the poor service. Ms X complained to the Ombudsman in December 2021.

My investigation

17. In response to my enquires, Ms X said the situation had improved.
18. The Council explained it could not locate the original complaint, which caused delay. Once the Council was aware of the complaint, it apologised for the delay and started an investigation.
19. The Council said customers can report missed collections via phone, email or using their online account.
20. The Council has admitted the service Ms X received was poor. It apologised and has put checks and solutions in place.

Analysis

21. Ms X reported 15 missed collections over a period of eight months between April 2021 and November 2021. The Council has provided records for the period February 2020 to November 2021 which show 15 instances the crew returned to collect reported missed collections. The Council accepted the service Ms X received was poor. I found it regularly missed Ms X’s waste collections, this is fault.
22. When Ms X reported missed collections by telephone the Council did not always respond. That was poor practice.
23. Ms X found it time consuming to report missed collections by telephone. However, the Council has confirmed she can also report by email or online.
24. Ms X also had to dispose of her recycling herself on occasion. This put Ms X to avoidable time and trouble.
25. The Council admitted fault, explained how it happened and apologised. Ms X told me the service initially improved after her complaint, but the Council has missed two collections since December 2021. I consider the Council took suitable action to improve its service. While I appreciate Ms X’s concerns about further missed collections, that was over a six-month period and does not indicate a regular or systemic problem at this stage. It is something Ms X and the Council will need to keep under review.
26. The Council has also apologised for the delay in dealing with Ms X’s complaint.
27. The regular missed waste collections during a seven-month period caused Ms X injustice. The waste left on the street produced bad smells and strained Ms X’s relationship with her neighbour. That caused her distress. Repeatedly reporting the missed collections and disposing of the recycling herself put Ms X to avoidable time and trouble.

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Agreed action

28. Within four weeks of the final decision being issued, the Council will pay Ms X £200 in recognition of the distress and time and trouble its failings caused.

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Final decision

29. I have completed my investigation. The Council was at fault for failing to routinely collect Ms X’s waste. This caused Ms X distress and put her to avoidable time and trouble.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman