Summary: Mr X complained the Council delayed providing him with a garden waste bin. He said this caused him unnecessary frustration. We find the Council at fault which caused injustice. The Ombudsman is satisfied the Council’s actions have remedied the injustice to Mr X.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council:
1. delayed providing him with a garden waste bin; and
2. handled his complaint poorly.
2. He says this caused him unnecessary frustration.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I considered all comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

What should have happened

Garden waste (part a of the complaint)

7. The Council’s website states its annual garden waste subscription year runs from 1 April to 31 March in any given year. It says residents can sign up at any time during the subscription year. It says if a resident signs up in January, they will only receive weekly collections for three months before they need to renew their subscription.
8. The Council’s website says new customers will receive their garden waste bin within 10 working days.
9. The Council’s website says when a customer pays for a subscription, they agree to the Garden Waste Collection Service terms and conditions. The Council’s garden waste service terms and conditions document says the Council will deliver the garden waste bin within 21 working days of an application. It says it may take longer if there is an event outside the Council’s control.

Complaints handling (part b of the complaint)

10. The Council’s website says it aims to acknowledge a complaint or escalation request within five working days of receiving it.
11. It says a service manager will investigate a stage one complaint and will aim to send a response within 10 working days of acknowledgement. The manager will let you know what we can do to resolve your complaint.
12. It says the Corporate Complaints Team or the Head of the relevant service will consider complaints escalated to stage two and will issue their decision in writing within 20 working days of acknowledgement.

What happened

13. In early April, Mr X paid for his annual garden waste subscription.
14. In late April, Mr X formally complained to the Council.
15. In late May, the Council provided Mr X with the garden waste bin. It began the collections. Mr X chased the Council to respond to his complaint.
16. In November, the Council responded to Mr X’s complaint. It apologised to Mr X and recognised he waited longer than expected for his garden waste bin and apologised for its poor communication.

Analysis

Garden waste (part a of the complaint)

17. The timescales for the Council providing the garden waste bin to new customers differ on its website and in its terms and conditions. In any case, the Council did not meet either deadline. The delay of a month is fault. This fault caused Mr X some unnecessary frustration.
18. The Council accepts it delayed providing Mr X with his garden waste bin. It apologised to Mr X for the frustration this caused him. I am satisfied this apology remedies the injustice caused by its delay providing the garden waste bin.

Complaints handling (part b of the complaint)

19. The Council’s policy says it aims to respond to stage one complaints within 10 working days. It took seven months to respond to Mr X’s complaint. This delay is fault which caused Mr X additional frustration.
20. The Council apologised to Mr X for the frustration he experienced caused by its delay responding to his complaint and its poor communication. I am satisfied this apology was in line with our published guidance on remedies and sufficiently remedies the injustice caused to Mr X.
21. The Council has recently taken service improvement action to improve its complaints handling in agreement with the Ombudsman in relation to another case. For this reason, I consider a further service improvement remedy is not proportionate.

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Decision

22. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has already taken suitable action to remedy injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman