Wakefield Metropolitan District Council (25 018 224)
Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 10 Mar 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s waste collection service attending his street too early in the morning. The Council already apologised and said it would remind its crews to attend on time. An investigation is unlikely to achieve anything else. We will not investigate the Council’s complaint handling because the tests in our Assessment Code are not met.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council:
- conducted waste collection on his street too early in the morning; and
- failed to respond to his complaint properly.
- Mr X said the matter caused him distress and frustration.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council’s waste collection service attended too early in the morning. The waste collection service attended 40 minutes earlier than scheduled. In its complaint response, the Council upheld the complaint, apologised, and said it reminded its waste collection teams to attend at the agreed time. An investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve anything else.
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s complaints handling because it is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation is unlikely to achieve anything further. We will not investigate the Council’s complaint handling because the tests in our Assessment Code are not met.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman