Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision she will need to pay for a replacement bin after hers was damaged. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s decision she would need to pay for a replacement bin after hers was damaged. Mrs X says the bin was damaged by the refuse crew but did not have proof of this.

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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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and information on the Council’s website including its waste & recycling collection policies (August 2024).
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X complained to the Council about the matter set out in paragraph one, above.
7. The Council told Mrs X its policy is to charge a delivery and administration fee for all new or replacement waste and recycling containers; this includes when a bin has been damaged, vandalised, lost or stolen. The only exception to this is where there is evidence the damage was caused by its refuse crew. There was no such evidence on this occasion and so the charge applied.
8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because, whilst I acknowledge Mrs X is dissatisfied with the Council’s decision, there is no sign of fault in its response on the matter. It has considered and decided it in line with the information on its website and its published policy which states there is a charge for a replacement bin in these circumstances. It has clearly explained its decision and it is one it is entitled to make.
9. We are not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at the Council’s decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the process it followed in making its decision. If, as here, we consider it followed those processes correctly we cannot question whether the decision is right or wrong, even though Mrs X disagrees with it.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman