Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint that the Council failed to remove her bulky waste she paid to have collected or about the Council’s communication. This is because the Council apologised, refunded Mrs X, and made service improvements. An investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve anything further.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council:
• failed to remove her bulky waste she paid to have collected; and
• failed to communicate with her about the matter.
2. Mrs X said the matter caused her frustration and time and trouble to resolve.

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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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, 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. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaints. This is because, in its complaint responses, the Council upheld her complaint. It apologised to Mrs X for failing to communicate with her effectively and for failing to collect the bulky waste due to an administrative error.
7. It explained it had made service improvements including changing its processes and providing training to staff. It offered to refund Mrs X for the missed bulky collection.
8. The Council’s actions to address the issues raised are in line with the Ombudsman’s expectations. Therefore, an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome, and we will not investigate these complaints.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs 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