Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s waste collection service. This is because the Council has taken suitable action in response to Mr X’s complaint and further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council misplaced his bins which allowed his neighbours to use its complaint system to harass him. He said the Council assisted his neighbour to breach a court order. He said the Council falsely said he did not provide details of the court order.
2. He said the situation caused him distress and he had been victimised. He wants the Council to provide an apology, a financial payment and create a channel for him to report waste issues.

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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:

• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint

(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. Mr X complained the Council’s waste team left his neighbours bin to block his drive. He said due to a court order he had to contact his solicitor to request his neighbour to move the bin. He said the Council falsely stated he did not provide a copy of the court order when requested.
7. In its complaint response the Council said it had on occasion placed bins incorrectly, but it was not deliberate or linked to the court order. It said it instructed the waste team to ensure it placed the bins at the correct location. It also said it added an instruction to its system to automatically notify the waste team to leave bins in the correct place.
8. The Council acknowledged it was incorrect when it said Mr X had not provided a copy of the court order and apologised. It advised Mr X that the enforcement of the court order was a police matter.
9. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council explained to Mr X that its actions were not linked to the court order. It put in place a service improvement and apologised it did not initially acknowledge that Mr X had sent it the court order. This is an appropriate response to Mr X’s complaint and further investigation by the Ombudsman would not lead to a different outcome.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman