Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s bin service. There is insufficient significant personal injustice caused to Mr X by the matters complained of to warrant us investigating. Investigation would not lead to a different outcome for Mr X.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council:
1. failed to empty his bin on its usual collection date;
2. told him it would be emptied within seven days but failed to do so.
2. Mr X says he had to leave his bin out on the street for collection for two weeks. He says this became a health hazard and caused an obstruction on the pavement. Mr X wants the Council to return and collect unemptied bins within their stated time frame.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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; or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information from Mr X, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. We recognise the Council’s bin staff not emptying Mr X’s bin and not returning within seven days to empty it meant he did not get the rubbish removed for two weeks and had to leave his bin out. This would have caused him frustration and inconvenience. But these matters did not cause enough significant personal injustice to him to justify the use of public money to investigate this complaint.
6. The Council apologised to Mr X for the errors in its bin service during its complaint process. This is the outcome we may have sought here as the outcome from an investigation. An investigation would not now achieve a different outcome for Mr X.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because:
• there is insufficient significant personal injustice caused to him by the bin service issues to justify an investigation; and
• investigation would not achieve a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman