Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision he would need to pay for replacement dustbins. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council, and we could not add anything further to the Council’s investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s decision that damage to his dustbins had been caused by general wear and tear. Mr X said the damage had been caused by dustbin crews, and the Council did not properly consider this.
2. Mr X said he therefore had to pay to replace his dustbins, and he spent significant time complaining to the Council.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organization.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X asked the Council to replace his dustbins because they had been damaged due to poor handling by its crews. The Council said the damage appeared to be due to general wear and tear so he would need to pay for replacements. Mr X then complained to the Council.
7. In its response to Mr X’s complaint, the Council said it reviewed all available evidence again, including photographs provided by Mr X. The Council maintained its decision the damage appeared to have been caused by wear and tear, and so Mr X would need to pay for replacement dustbins.
8. The Council also said Mr X had not provided any specific incidents where its crews had caused the damage.
9. Mr X remained dissatisfied because the Council had not carried out a physical inspection of the dustbins.
10. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council here to warrant our involvement. It carried out an assessment of the damage, using the information available to it. Its decision meant Mr X had to pay to replace the bins, which is in line with information available on its website.
11. The Council’s investigation appears to have been sufficiently thorough and as such, we could not add anything further by investigating.
12. For these reasons, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council and we could not add anything further to the Council’s investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman