Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed waste collections. The injustice is not enough to justify our involvement.

The complaint

1. Ms B says the Council failed to collect her garden waste, even after her complaint and during a period of monitoring. Ms B wants her bin emptied and a refund for the missed collections.

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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.

(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.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. 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.
6. When it comes to waste collections, mistakes can happen, and from time-to-time most people will have a missed collection. We would not normally investigate complaints where there have only been a couple of missed collections or one-off problems. So, we will not investigate Ms B’s complaint, because although we understand it is frustrating, the injustice caused is not significant enough to justify our continued involvement in the case.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because the injustice is not enough to justify our involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman