Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about a failed bulky waste collection nor issues with the Council’s complaints process. The Council apologised, offered a refund, and a symbolic payment to Miss X. It acknowledged a procedural error in its payment processing and said it would send the refund within four weeks. An investigation is unlikely to achieve anything further.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council failed to:
1. collect her bulky waste per its bulky waste collection policy;
2. address her concerns sufficiently through its complaints process; and
3. provide the remedy agreed in its stage two complaint response.
2. Miss X said the matter caused her distress.

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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:

• 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 and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council failed to collect her bulky waste. This is because in its complaint response the Council accepted it had failed to do so. It explained the reasons why and it apologised. It offered to refund Miss X the £35 she paid for the service. An investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome, and so we will not investigate this complaint.
7. Miss X also complained about delays and other issues in the Council’s complaints process. In its final response the Council apologised for the issues Miss X faced in accessing its complaints procedure. It offered Miss X a symbolic payment of £100 to acknowledge the frustration this caused in line with the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies. An investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome, and so we will not investigate this complaint.
8. In her complaint to the Ombudsman Miss X said the Council failed to pay her the total £135 payment. In response to the Ombudsman’s enquiries in late May 2025 the Council acknowledged it had not sent the payment for processing at the time it sent the stage two response. It explained it had now sent the payment for processing and that the payment should be made within four weeks by late June 2025. An investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome, and so we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because an investigation is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman