Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council communicated with him over the removal of a bulky waste item. Any injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council communicated poorly with him over the removal of a bulky waste item.
2. Mr X says this caused him significant stress, confusion and disruption. He wants the charges cancelling and the Council to admit its actions were disproportionate and carried out without making reasonable adjustments.

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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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• 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

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council told a homeowner that they had to dispose of a piece of furniture in their front garden because it was attracting pests. It warned the homeowner that if they did not dispose of it, the Council might do so and would recover the costs from them.
7. Mr X became involved in the matter at some point and communicated with the Council. A Council officer was in touch several times either by telephone or by visiting the property to assist Mr X to set up an online account on the Council website and to make a bulky waste collection request but he did not do so.
8. The furniture was not removed and so the Council hired contractors to remove it. It recharged the costs to the homeowner and these were around £600.
9. We will not investigate this complaint. That is because Mr X is not the homeowner and so he is not responsible for repaying what is owed.
10. Furthermore, there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s interactions with Mr X during this process. And even if there had been, any resulting injustice would not be significant enough to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman