Charnwood Borough Council (25 020 497)
Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 19 May 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about missed bin collections. This is because any injustice is not significant enough to warrant further investigation.
The complaint
- Miss X says the Council has missed several bin collections. She says this has caused her frustration and emotional strain.
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 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))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X complained the Council missed several bin collections. She says the Council delayed responding to her complaint and staff were rude when she contacted it.
- The Council said on two occasions the bin was collected on the next day after Miss X’s report of a missed collection. On one occasion the bin was not emptied because it was not presented for collection when the crew returned.
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. I recognise the missed collections caused some inconvenience and frustration. However, the Council collected the bin the next day on two occasions. The injustice claimed is not significant enough to warrant further investigation.
- Miss X is also unhappy with the way the Council dealt with her complaint. But it is not a good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaints handling if we are not going to look at the substantive issue complained about. We will not therefore investigate this issue separately.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to warrant further investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman