Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a missed bin collection. There is nothing worthwhile to be achieved through further investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council failed to collect her garden waste bin. She said she reported this to the Council, but it accused her of making false claims. She said the Council’s actions have caused her stress and has meant she has had to take her own waste to the recycling centre. She wants the Council to empty her bins without fail.

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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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, 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

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

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My assessment

5. Miss X reported four missed garden waste collections between August and October 2024. She also made a separate complaint to it about the cleanliness of her street following a neighbour sandblasting their house.
6. The Council could not confirm whether it missed the August collection. However, it disagreed with her report of a missed collection at the start of October; it said it had photographic evidence of the garden waste bin being empty but with some plastic in the bin. It said it took this picture as part of ongoing monitoring.
7. Miss X said this picture was false. She said she did not put the brown bin out for collection on that day. Despite this disagreement, the Council confirmed it continued to monitor her bin collections through video link attached to the collection vehicle. It said there had been no further reports of missed collections since the start of October 2024.
8. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council agreed to monitor waste collections and there have been no further reports of missed collection since October 2024. Therefore, the Council has satisfactorily addressed the issue. There is nothing worthwhile to be achieved through further investigation.
9. We will also not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council not cleaning the street. The Council visited in September 2024 following her initial report and did not find any issues. Following further reports from Miss X it said it attempted to cleanse the street, but it was not possible because of parked cars. The Council also completed a site visit to assess her complaint about damage to her property. It found no evidence of debris and included photographic evidence of this in its complaint response. There is not enough evidence of fault in how it followed up her concerns about street cleaning to justify our involvement.
10. If Miss X believes dust and dirt from the road works have damaged her property, she may wish to consider a claim with the Council’s insurance. Issues around negligence and liability are legal matters which only insurers and the courts can decide.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is nothing worthwhile to be achieved by further investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman