Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed recycling collections. The Council has apologised to the complainant and taken steps to improve the service. We consider further investigation will not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council:
• missed his refuse/recycling collections multiple times
• failed to adequately respond to complaints; and
• failed to offer adequate compensation after upholding his complaint.

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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 per-son 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.

(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 Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In response to Mr X’s complaint, the Council advised its waste contractor has had problems with staffing and vehicle reliability. It also advised the volume of recycling has increased. This means the collections trucks are becoming full mid-round which means they must be emptied. This causes delays which sometimes means the crews cannot complete the collections on time.
6. However, it has apologised to Mr X for the problems with his waste collections. It also confirms:
• A new waste transfer station has been created. Once operational this should speed up the process.
• It is looking at changing the rounds to avoid missing the same roads consistently.
7. The Council has also apologised for failing to respond to his complaint according to its complaint procedure. It has advised this was partly because of the volume of complaints the Council was receiving together with changes to the team that deals with waste complaints. The Officer also advised they had closed Mr X’s complaint in error as he had not reported any further issues.
8. While I understand Mr X’s dissatisfaction, the Council has explained the reasons for the previous missed recycling collections. It has apologised and has put in place changes to improve the service. I consider that further investigation of this matter will not lead to a different outcome.
9. Mr X asked for compensation as he says the Council has not provided a service which he has paid for. The Council refused this request as council tax is not a service charge, nor is it paid to receive services a council provides. It is a local tax on domestic property. As such, refunds are not provided should a resident not receive a council service for any reason.
10. As an alternative, Mr X asked the Council to give him a new set of bins at no charge. In response to my enquiries, Mr X confirmed his bins have been damaged over time by careless workers. However, he did not report any damage when it occurred. Therefore we cannot require the Council to replace his bins.
11. I also note the errors following the complaints procedure. The Council has explained why the failure occurred and has apologised. I do not consider Mr X suffered a significant personal injustice because of a failure in the complaints process alone to justify an investigation.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has apologised for the missed collections and has taken steps to improve the service. We consider further investigation will not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman