Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a missed bulky waste collection. There is insufficient evidence of fault and Ms X says the waste has now been collected, so there is nothing more we could achieve.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains she paid for a bulky waste collection which the Council then failed to collect. She said information on its website was misleading and it has since refused to re-book the collection or refund her money. She says this is disability discrimination. She wants the Council to collect her bulky waste, clarify information on its website and support its vulnerable customers.

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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,
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(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 the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In its complaint response, the Council set out the instructions for residents requesting bulky waste collections, as stated on its website. The information states residents should leave all items at the kerbside where their bin is normally collected. It also states the Council will not enter homes or property and do not collect items from inside. This includes residents on the assisted collection list.
6. We will not investigate this complaint. The information is sufficiently clear that the Council will not enter homes or property and this included residents with assisted collections. If Ms X was unclear about where to leave her items, she could have contacted the Council to query this. Although Ms X believes the information is confusing, there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation. There is also insufficient evidence of disability discrimination.
7. In addition, Ms X has since told us the Council has collected her waste, so there is nothing more we could achieve.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault and there is nothing more we could achieve.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman