The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mr X complains the Council failed to deal with waste collections. The Council is at fault because it missed waste collections. Mr X did not suffer any significant injustice. The Council has returned to make the missed waste collections.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, complains the Council failed to deal with waste collections properly because they were missed.
Mr X says he has had to call and speak to the Council numerous times.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended) If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I spoke to Mr X about his complaint. I considered documents the Council provided.
Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.
What I found
What happened?
This is a brief chronology of key events. It does not contain everything I reviewed during my investigation.
Mr X complained his garden waste had not been collected. The Council responded upholding his complaint.
Mr X escalated his complaint as there was a further missed collection. The Council again upheld his complaint.
Analysis The Council has accepted that it missed Mr X’s garden waste collections due to a computer and human error.
Mr X confirmed to me that the problem he complained about has been addressed already by the Council returning to make collections.
This is fault by the Council. Mr X has not suffered any significant ongoing injustice. The Council has provided an appropriate remedy.
Final decision
I have found fault by the Council, which did not cause injustice to Mr X. I have now completed my investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman