Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about a garden waste missed collection. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs B complains the Council did not collect her garden waste because her bin did not display the Council-issued sticker which shows she has paid for this service. Mrs B says she was aware her payment would be late, so she attached her receipt to the bin. Mrs B says the refuse collectors should have recognised she had paid for this service and emptied her bin.
2. Mrs B also says this was made worse by the Council wrongly sending her automated emails saying her bin had been collected.
3. Mrs B would like the Council to empty the bin or refund part of her annual fee to recognise the missed collection.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mrs B and information on the Council’s website about the garden waste collection service.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council offers residents a fortnightly garden waste collection service which costs £59 per year. The Council will send a subscription sticker to be attached to the garden waste bin after receiving payment for this service. The terms and conditions of this service say the garden waste bin must clearly display a valid subscription sticker.
8. Mrs B’s garden waste bin did not display a valid subscription sticker, so the refuse collectors were not at fault for not emptying her bin.
9. Mrs B says the refuse collectors should allow some leeway and have a list to show any residents who have paid for this service but have not yet received their subscription sticker. But, it is for the Council to decide how this service will operate. It is not our role to tell the Council it should operate this service differently.
10. The Council has apologised to Mrs B for sending automated emails which wrongly said her bin had been emptied. This was a suitable response from the Council and further involvement by the Ombudsman is not justified.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman