Summary: We upheld this complaint about repeated missed assisted waste collections. The Council has now agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to the complainant.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as X, complained the Council has repeatedly missed assisted waste collections from their property since they moved in, in September 2023. When X has reported the missed collections, they say the Council has not consistently collected the waste within two working days. They say this has caused a build-up of waste at the front of the property.
2. The complainant says they have been required to make multiple telephone and online reports of the missed collections, with the help of their support worker, which have taken up to an hour at a time. X considers the time wasted, and the inconvenience and frustration caused, to have been avoidable.

Back to top

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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

My assessment

6. Councils have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to collect household waste and recycling from properties in their area. Councils normally expect people to move their bins to the pavement in front of their property, to allow it to be easily collected. However, a council may decide to provide an assisted collection to a person if they are unable to move their bins because of a disability. Under an assisted collection, the crew will enter the person’s property, such as their garden or driveway, to collect the bins, and then return them to their storage place afterwards.
7. X reported repeated issues with their assisted collection. The Council said it would clear the waste that had built up outside X’s property and address the matter with the refuse crews. After a further report, the Council also said it would monitor the collections for two weeks. However, X says they have continued to experience problems with their assisted collections.
8. If we were to investigate it is likely we would find fault causing the complainant injustice because the assisted collections have continued to be missed, repeatedly, including since X submitted a formal complaint in December 2023. This has caused X inconvenience and frustration. The fact that the complainant has assisted collections compounds the injustice to them when collections are missed.

Back to top

Agreed action

9. We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by its actions by:
• Apologising to X, sharing information about the Council’s newly implemented “Repeat Missed Collections Process” with them, and making them a symbolic payment of £250 in recognition of the inconvenience and frustration they have experienced, within one month of our final decision.
• Keep X’s assisted collection address on the “hotspot” list for two months and carry out proper monitoring (with photos taken as evidence) over the same time period. Report the findings, and any next steps if necessary, to the complainant and us within three months of our final decision.
• As soon as possible, but within one month of our final decision, provide X with a designated contact for reporting missed collections during this period.
10. To its credit the Council agreed to resolve the complaint and to carry out the actions we requested. We consider this is appropriate to remedy the injustice X experienced, and it is therefore not proportionate for us to investigate the matter further. It remains open to X to complain to the Council and then us again, should consistency of collections fall after this period.

Back to top

Final decision

11. We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to the complainant.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman