Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the time taken by the Council to deliver bins to the complainant. This is because there is insufficient evidence of injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, complains about the time the Council took to deliver new bins. She says she had to chase the Council many times. Ms X wants the Council to refund the cost of the new bins.

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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 an investigation if we decide:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(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 Ms X. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Ms X ordered two bins in June. The Council told her there was a 12 week delivery period. The deadline was 12 September. Ms X says she had to repeatedly chase the Council and was fobbed off and lied to. Ms X also says other people received new bins before she did, even though they ordered the bins after Ms X.
5. The Council delivered one bin on 6 September and the other on 19 September.
6. Ms X complained. In response the Council apologised and said there is a delay in the provision of new bins. It declined her request for a refund because it delivered both bins and only one was delivered outside the 12 weeks. It said there is no evidence anyone had lied and each time she had contacted the Council a chaser was sent to the service. The Council said there was no evidence to support her statement that officers told her the delivery would be prioritised.
7. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of injustice. I appreciate the delay in receiving the bins may have been inconvenient and frustrating. But, although the Council has a backlog in delivering bins, it warned Ms X of the delivery window and only one bin was delivered slightly outside that window. I acknowledge Ms X’s dissatisfaction with the service but the impact is not to the degree that we need to start an investigation.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman