Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Mr X’s refuse collection. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions. If Mr X believes the Council has shared his personal data, it is reasonable for him to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office on this point.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains:
• the Council gave his personal information to the refuse collectors; and
• lied about trying to contact him by telephone.

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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
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

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

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My assessment

5. The Council says it called Mr X multiple times, but it was not able to leave a message. It wrote to Mr X asking for another telephone number or email address to contact him. Mr X says this is a lie as he did not receive any calls. However, the Ombudsman is not able to verify this point one way or another.
6. The Council has also confirmed information about Mr X’s assisted collection is not shared with the waste contractor. The only information provided to the crews is the address for assisted collection.
7. The refuse contractor has confirmed to the Council that its’ crews have been told not to engage anyone from Mr X’s address in conversation.
8. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the statutory body created to consider complaints about data breaches and is best placed to investigate the matters raised. It is therefore reasonable for Mr X to pursue his complaint about a data breach with the ICO.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation into his concerns would not lead to a different outcome. And it is reasonable to expect Mr X to complain to the ICO if he believes the Council breached the data protection regulations.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman