The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to provide a free replacement recycling bin after hers was damaged. This is because there is no sign of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall call Miss X, complains about the Council’s decision she needs to pay for a replacement recycling bin after hers was damaged.
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 effect 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 the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended) We do not start an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)) We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss X complained to the Council about its decision she would need to pay for a replacement recycling bin after hers was damaged. Miss X says the bin was left out for collection with a lid but was returned with the lid missing. Miss X says she did not damage the bin herself and so the replacement bin should not be chargeable.
The Council said the damage to Miss X’s bin was not consistent with damage caused during the bin emptying process and that it could have been caused by deterioration through age, wear and tear or impact from another source. For this reason, it confirmed Miss X’s replacement bin would be chargeable.
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because, whilst I acknowledge Miss X’s dissatisfaction with the Council’s decision, there is no sign of fault by the Council here. It has decided the matter in line with its policy on charging for new refuse bins, which is published on its website. It was a decision it was entitled to make. It states: “You are responsible for keeping the bin in good condition to ensure minimal wear and tear and if your bin is damaged during normal use you will be required to pay for a replacement bin delivery. You will not be charged if we have damaged the bin during collection as the crew will make a note of the cause of the damage.”
We are not an appeal body and it is not our role to tell the Council it should have agreed Miss X’s request for a free replacement bin. We cannot question the merits of a Council’s decisions where, as here, there is no sign of fault in the way in which it was reached.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is no sign of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman