Summary: Mr X complained the Council had failed to collect his household waste on multiple occasions since December 2022. We found fault because of the failed collections and ineffective monitoring to improve the situation. To remedy the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Mr X and share guidance with relevant officers.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council repeatedly failed to collect his household waste from December 2022 to August 2023.
2. Mr X says this has caused distress and frustration and that the missed collections have a significant impact on his household.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), 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)

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What I have investigated

5. In addition to the original complaint made by Mr X, it became apparent during my investigation that the Council had repeatedly directed Mr X to us rather than investigate why its resolutions had not solved the issue of missed collections. I have exercised discretion to investigate this issue.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have considered all the information Mr X provided and discussed this complaint with him. We also requested information from the Council, and in turn I have considered its response.
7. Mr X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I have taken any comments received into consideration before reaching my final decision.

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What I found

What happened

8. Mr X lives in an area where general household waste is collected every two weeks. Mr X’s household has specific additional needs and so he has an agreement with the Council to have his waste collected weekly instead. This means he has an extra collection for medical waste on the weeks when his general waste is not due to be collected.
9. At the end of January 2023, Mr X complained to the Council that it had not collected his waste the previous week. He said this was the second time it had happened in the last few months and outlined the difficulties it caused when not collected because of his household’s specific needs. Mr X asked for the Council to collect his waste and monitor his collections.
10. In mid-February 2023, the Council responded to his complaint. In this response, it:
• apologised and said the missed collections were due to human error;
• confirmed it had returned to complete the missed collection reported at the end of January;
• confirmed it had set a reminder on the collection lorry’s computer system to remind crews to collect; and
• said it would monitor his collections.
11. The Council signposted Mr X to the Ombudsman as it had completed its complaints process.
12. The Council missed another collection at the beginning of February 2023 and again at the beginning of March 2023.
13. After these further missed collections, Mr X again contacted the Council. The Council replied to remind Mr X that it had signposted him to the Ombudsman and advised it had asked waste collection managers to look into the recent missed collection.
14. Following another missed collection at the end of June 2023, Mr X again contacted the Council. The Council again repeated that he had exhausted its complaints process and signposted him to the Ombudsman. The Council said it had asked the waste management team to continue to work with Mr X to resolve the ongoing issues.
15. In mid-August 2023, the Council missed another collection. Mr X has confirmed that all of the missed collections were on his ‘extra’ collection weeks.
16. Mr X then brought his complaint to us later in August.
17. Mr X has confirmed that as of early-December 2023, the Council has not missed any further collections since mid-August.

Analysis

18. Mr X experienced six missed collections between December 2022 and August 2023. Some of these were collected after he had reported them and some were not.
19. Despite the fact the Council’s original complaint response said it would monitor the collections and put reminders in place, it missed a further three collections up to August 2023. Missing the collections was fault. It meant that Mr X had to go to the trouble of contacting the Council each time and would have caused him frustration and distress in doing so as well as causing difficulties by not having his waste collected. I have made a recommendation below to remedy this injustice.
20. In response to our enquiries, the Council did not provide any evidence of monitoring that had taken place.
21. I am satisfied the continued missed collections show the Council’s promised reminders and monitoring were not effective. This is fault. It would have led to frustration for Mr X and meant that the injustice of not having his waste collected at the correct intervals was ongoing. I have made a recommendation below to remedy the injustice caused by this fault.
22. After its initial complaint response to Mr X, the Council’s later responses continued to direct Mr X to the Ombudsman but made no mention of any of the monitoring that was supposed to have taken place or why his collections might still be being missed. In neither of its responses, did it offer Mr X any form of apology for the ongoing frustration and distress that the missed collections would have caused, especially given the nature of his household’s need for weekly collections.
23. I am satisfied, that in the circumstances of this complaint, the Council should have been more proactive in seeking to address why the reminders and monitoring had not solved the collection issue, rather than repeatedly directing Mr X to us and saying waste collection services had been informed they had missed the collection again. This is fault. It would have added to Mr X’s frustration and distress. I have made a recommendation below to remedy this injustice.
24. In response to our enquiries, the Council provided information on reminders that are now in place for the collection crew. I welcome this step. Mr X has confirmed he has had no missed collections since August 2023.
25. I am satisfied, that in the circumstances of this complaint, the problem of missed collections and linked injustice are no longer ongoing. As such, I do not intend to make any further recommendations regarding crew reminders or monitoring.
26. In response to my draft decision, the Council advised that some collections were missed due to the vehicle used to complete the medical waste collections being out of service. The Council also confirmed further monitoring is currently in place until the end of March 2024. I welcome this step.

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Agreed action

27. To remedy the injustice caused by the faults I have identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within four weeks of the date of my final decision:
• apologise to Mr X for the missed collections, ineffective monitoring and lack of decisive action to establish why the situation had not improved;
• pay Mr X £150 for the distress and frustration caused by the issues he complained of; and
• share the Ombudsman’s guidance on effective complaint handling for local authorities with relevant officers and managers.
28. The suggested payment is in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies.
29. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

30. I have now completed my investigation. I uphold this complaint with a finding of fault causing an injustice.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman