Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s garden waste collection scheme. There is not enough evidence of the matter causing him a sufficient personal injustice to warrant us investigating.

The complaint

1. Mr X signed up for the Council’s optional garden waste collection service. The Council missed a collection in summer 2021 and Mr X asked for a refund for it. He complains the Council:
1. has unreasonably refused to change its garden waste collection contract terms of never giving refunds for missed collections;
2. has breached the Consumer Rights Act 2015 by retaining those contract terms.
2. Mr X says the matter caused him injustice because:
• he had to get rid of the garden waste himself, which he had done before the Council offered to visit again to collect it;
• he has spent time dealing with it, and been caused trouble by it.
3. He wants the Council to change the terms and conditions for the garden waste service, to allow refunds for missed collections.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. There is not enough evidence of this matter causing a significant personal injustice to Mr X to justify our involvement. The injustice is not sufficient to warrant us using public funds to investigate the complaint.
7. The absence of a sufficient personal injustice to Mr X means we do not have grounds to consider other issues he raised. As it is a voluntary service, if Mr X did not agree with the terms and conditions, he also had the option to make his own arrangements to dispose of garden waste. There is a disagreement between Mr X and the Council on whether the terms of the garden waste scheme breach the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The Ombudsman cannot settle legal disputes which require interpretation of the law. It is for the courts to determine the appropriate interpretation and application of laws and disputes over contract terms. If Mr X wants a finding on these legal issues, he would need to put them before a court. He may wish to seek his own independent legal advice before doing so.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of the matter causing him a significant personal injustice to warrant us using public funds to investigate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman