Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s “bulky waste” collection service because the claimed injustice is insufficient to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman. The Council apologised for delays in its complaint correspondence and an investigation is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council:
• delayed collecting three “bulky waste” items;
• failed to process a refund when one of the items was stolen before the Council collected it; and
• failed to communicate with her about the matter.
2. Miss X says the matter has caused her time and trouble to resolve. Miss X wants the Council to refund the cost of the third item it did not collect.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

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

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Miss X paid the Council to collect three “bulky waste” items from her home. Miss X said the Council failed to collect the items on the scheduled day. She said one of the items was stolen, and the Council should refund the cost of the item it did not collect.
7. The Council responded to Miss X’s complaint several months later. It apologised for the delay in the complaint response. It told her it would not refund the item that was stolen because its policy states it will not issue refunds once a payment is made. It accepted the collection did not take place on time, but said it did collect the items, therefore Miss X received the service she paid for.

Analysis

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaints. The cost to have a third “bulky waste” item collected by the Council is £10. Even if we were to find fault due to delay in collecting the items, the injustice is not significant enough injustice to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman. Therefore, we will not investigate this matter.
9. Miss X complained about delays in the Council’s complaint responses. The Council apologised for the delay in its complaint response. An investigation into this matter is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome, and so we will not investigate.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the claimed injustice is insufficient to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman. The Council apologised for delays in its complaint correspondence and an investigation is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman