London Borough of Barnet (26 006 584)
Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 17 Jun 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about Council refuse collectors leaving his bin in front of his driveway. This is because it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s own investigation and Mr B has not suffered a significant injustice.
The complaint
- Mr B says despite numerous requests, Council refuse collectors continue to leave his bin in front of his driveway blocking access.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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:
- any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement,
- we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr B and have viewed the access to his property on Google Streetview.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In response to Mr B’s complaint, the Council apologised for the issues he has experienced and said it will monitor his collections for six weeks. The Council added it will take further action if refuse collectors do not follow instructions on returning Mr B’s bins.
- The information indicates the Council is taking this issue seriously and taking action. It is unlikely an investigation by the Ombudsman would significantly add to the Council’s investigation. And, I find Mr B has not suffered a significant personal injustice which would justify our involvement.
- So, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s own investigation and Mr B has not suffered a significant injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman