Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed waste collections. This is because there is not enough injustice to justify our involvement, and we are satisfied with the actions the Council took in response to the complaint. It accepted service failure, explained the reasons and what it was doing to improve, and apologised for the impact.

The complaint

1. Ms B said the Council has not provided regular waste collections to her property. Rubbish builds up in the bin store and smells, residents have seen rats, and Ms B must take her rubbish to alternative bins. Ms B says the Council told her it had collected the bins when it had not. Ms B wants the Council to provide weekly bin collections and be honest when it misses a collection.

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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:

• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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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 do not investigate all complaints we receive. In deciding whether to investigate we need to consider various tests. These include the alleged injustice to the person complaining. We only investigate the most serious complaints. We appreciate Ms B’s frustration at not getting the correct service, but the impact is not serious enough to justify our resource to investigate.
7. The Council has accepted service failure and fully explained the reasons to Ms B and the actions it is taking to improve its service. The Council apologised to Ms B.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because there is not enough injustice to justify our involvement, and we are satisfied with the actions the Council took in response to the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman