Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s collection of the complainant’s recycling. This is because the Council has apologised and corrected the matter. Further investigation will not lead to a different outcome, and we cannot require the Council to give the complainant a refund on her council tax payments.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council failed to collect her recycling for a year. She wants a refund of the council tax she has paid in recognition of the lack of service.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide:

• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mrs X complains the Council failed to collect her recycling from the date she moved into her home in April 2022.
6. A senior officer visited Mrs X’s home and cleared all the excess recycling. The Council says they when clearing the recycling the officer noted Mrs X had not sorted her recycling. However, the collection crew had not followed the correct process as it had not tagged Mrs X’s boxes to explain why they were not collected.
7. The Council confirms the officer followed the collection crew when attending Mrs X’s road to ensure all collections are made correctly. It also confirms the crews are collecting the recycling or tagging the boxes to explain the reasons for non-collection. We do not consider that further investigation will lead to a different outcome.
8. Mrs X wants a refund of her council tax for the lack of the recycling bin service. Council tax is not a contract with or payment to the council to receive specific services. It is a tax to be paid by liable residents in accordance with the law, so we do not require councils to refund the tax as a remedy. That we cannot achieve the outcome Mrs X seeks from her complaint is a further reason why we will not investigate.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because further investigation will not lead to a different outcome. And we cannot achieve the outcome she is seeking.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman