Gloucester City Council (26 016 033)
Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 08 Sep 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council charging for replacement recycling containers. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault and any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
The complaint
- Mrs B complains her two recycling boxes were damaged during collection but the Council wrongly says she must pay for replacement boxes. Mrs B would like the Council to provide two replacement recycling boxes free of charge.
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:
- 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))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs B and information on the Council’s website.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council’s policy is to charge a resident for replacement refuse containers unless the resident can provide evidence to show the damage was caused by the collection crew.
- Mrs B does not have video evidence because her security cameras do not cover the area where she is required to leave her bins. This is unfortunate, but the information indicates the Council’s decision was in line with its policy. So, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
- And, the total cost for two recycling boxes is £14, which is a modest amount. Mrs B has not been caused a serious or significant injustice which would justify public money being spent on an investigation or the pursuit of a financial remedy by the Ombudsman.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault and any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman