Maidstone Borough Council (25 024 259)
Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 01 Jun 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that a refuse collector damaged his car. This is because it is reasonable for Mr X to pursue the matter through the courts.
The complaint
- Mr X complains that a refuse collector damaged his car. He wants the Council to pay for the repairs and compensation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The Act says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X claims a refuse collector damaged his car by dragging a wheelie bin across it. He asked the Council to pay for the repairs and to see the CCTV footage of the incident.
- Mr X complained to the Council. The Council told him to contact its refuse contractors and make a claim through its insurers.
- We cannot decide whether the Council is liable for the damage to Mr X’s car and have no powers to enforce an award of damages. Mr X may pursue his claim by taking the Council to court and I have seen nothing to show it would be unreasonable to expect him to do so.
- For these reasons, we will not investigate this complaint. Mr X is also unhappy with the way the Council dealt with his 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 Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to pursue his claim by taking the Council to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman