Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Mr X’s refuse collections and the Council’s decision to charge him for a new bin. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault and we could not achieve the outcome Mr X wants.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s refuse collections and its decision to charge him for a new bin. He also says the Council has refused to escalate his complaint to stage 3 of its complaints procedure. He wants the Council to provide him with a new bin and return it to his property after each collection.

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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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

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

3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X complained that due to long working hours, it was difficult for him to retrieve his bin promptly after each collection. He said because of this, his bin was going missing or being stolen. He said as the bin belonged to the Council, it was the Council’s responsibility to return the bin to his property. He also said he would not pay for a new bin.
7. In its complaint responses to Mr X, the Council said:
• There was no evidence the Council had removed or damaged his bin, and so it would not pay for a new one.
• It was his choice whether to purchase a new bin and if he chose not to, he could place his rubbish in clear bags and it would continue to be collected.
• In order to access his bin, there was a designated collection point at the bottom of the alleyway behind his house. As he did not have assisted collections, it would not return the bin to his property.
• It suggested he could ask a neighbour to help return his bin after each collection. It also offered a site meeting with the operational team to help try and resolve the situation.
• It would not escalate his complaint to stage 3 of its complaints procedure as it had fully responded to his complaint and a stage 3 panel could not achieve the outcome he wanted.
8. We will not investigate this complaint. I have seen no evidence to support that the Council damaged or took his bin, and so we could not require it to pay for a new one. The Council is entitled to have arrangements to allow it to access recycling bins in order to empty them, and so it is unlikely an investigation would find fault with the decision to have a designated collection point. It also offered to meet with Mr X which is an appropriate way to try to resolve his concerns. We could not add to the Council’s response or achieve the outcome Mr X wants.
9. The Council has discretion to decide whether to progress a complaint to stage 3 of it complaints procedure. In this case the Council decided it could not achieve the outcome Mr X wanted and so it would not accept his request. There is insufficient evidence of fault in how it reached this decision and so we cannot question the decision made.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault and we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman