Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council taking Mr B’s refuse bin without telling him. This is because Mr B has not suffered a significant injustice which would justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr B, complains that Council refuse collectors threw his refuse bin into the bin lorry and did not tell him. Mr B says he spent time trying to find his bin and also trying to get answers from the Council, before finding out what happened when he viewed his CCTV footage. Mr B would like the Council to pay him compensation for the distress he suffered and to review its procedures.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 an investigation if we decide:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• 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

3. I considered information provided by Mr B and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In response to Mr B’s complaint the Council said Mr B’s bin would not empty into the refuse vehicle because the bin was damaged. The Council accepted it was at fault for not telling Mr B that it had removed his bin. The Council apologised to Mr B and confirmed that he had now been provided with a replacement bin.
6. The Council explained the current process for reporting such incidents and said the system should be more effective when the Council introduces new technology in 2023. The Council refused Mr B’s request for compensation.
7. Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
8. The Council has provided Mr B with a replacement bin and has apologised for what happened. I find Mr B has not suffered a significant injustice which would justify public money being spent on an investigation or the pursuit of a financial remedy by the Ombudsman. So, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because Mr B has not suffered a significant injustice which would justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman