Summary: We have upheld this complaint about ongoing issues with bin collections, but we will not investigate this complaint further because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mr Y.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complains about ongoing issues with his bin collections. He complained multiple times to the Council but continues to experience issues including missed collections.
2. Mr Y also complains about the conduct and behaviour of Council staff. He says bin collection staff have been aggressive and intimidating towards him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr Y and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr Y complained to the Council about ongoing issues he has experienced with his bin collections. The Council investigated this, and placed Mr Y’s collections on a short period of monitoring. During this time, no further concerns were reported. However shortly after, issues reoccurred. Mr Y reported this, however the Council failed to investigate further.
8. If we investigated this complaint, we would likely find the Council at fault. This is because it did not respond to Mr Y after issuing its stage two complaint response and did not consider investigating new matters that Mr Y reported.
9. Since bringing his complaint to us, the Council has confirmed M Y has continued to report issues with his bin collections.
10. We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by its actions by providing Mr Y with details of a named officer to act as a single point of access for Mr Y. This officer will be available for Mr Y to directly report any further issues to. We also asked the Council to place Mr Y’s bin collections on additional monitoring, for an extended period of six months.

Agreed action

11. To its credit, the Council agreed. The Council should complete the agreed actions within four weeks of this decision, and communicate this with Mr Y.

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Final decision

12. We have upheld this complaint but will not investigate it further because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mr Y.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman