Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about the Council expecting her to pay for a replacement bin. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation. And, the claimed injustice is not serious or significant enough to justify public money being spent on an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs B complains her recycling bin was damaged during collection and can no longer be used. Mrs B says this was most likely the result of rough handling by refuse collectors but the Council requires her to pay £15 for a replacement bin. Mrs B says this is unfair and it is unreasonable for the Council to expect her to have evidence to prove how the damage occurred. Mrs B would like the Council to provide a replacement bin free of charge.

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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 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

3. I considered information provided by Mrs B and information on the Council’s website.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Local authorities are allowed to charge residents for replacement bins and containers.
6. The Council’s policy is to charge a resident for a replacement bin unless the damage has been directly caused by the actions of refuse collectors and the resident has clear evidence of this.
7. It is for the Council to decide how such a policy will operate and it is not our role to tell the Council it should operate its policy differently.
8. The Council’s decision to charge Mrs B for a replacement bin was in line with this policy. And, it is highly unlikely an investigation by the Ombudsman would enable us to make sound findings about the cause of the damage to Mrs B’s bin.
9. So, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
10. Also, the fee for a new bin is relatively modest. I find Mrs B has not suffered a serious or significant injustice which would justify public money being spent on an investigation by the Ombudsman.
11. So, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault and the claimed injustice does not justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman