Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed waste collections. This is because the complaint is made late and there are not good reasons to investigate now.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about recurring problems with missed waste collection in 2023 and 2024. Ms X complains the problem has recurred and is ongoing from early this year. Ms X wants her waste to be collected properly each week.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

My assessment

6. Ms X’s previous complaint to the Council related to missed collections from March 2023 to March 2024. The Council upheld Ms X’s complaint acknowledging its service provision had fallen short. It apologised to Ms X and put in place measures it said would address the issue.
7. Ms X complained to us in February 2025, after she had experienced a recurrence of missed collections. While Ms X has reported these to the Council, she has not submitted a formal complaint to it. The law says we should allow a council the chance to respond to a complaint before we intervene. Ms X should therefore complain to the Council in the first instance.
8. Ms X has not complained to us about the majority of the missed collections she experienced previously, in 2023/2024, within a year of her knowing about these problems. It is reasonable for Ms X to have done this and as such, I do not consider there are good reasons to investigate this late complaint now.
9. Ms X did experience three missed collections within the calendar year prior to her complaining to us. However, I do not consider there is sufficient injustice from this in isolation to warrant our further involvement, particularly as after this time, collections did improve, until the recurrence in early this year.
10. For these reasons, we will not investigate.

Back to top

Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because part is made late and a formal complaint has not been made to the Council about current issues.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman