The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a missed bin collection by the Council. This is because there is insufficient evidence of the complainant being caused a significant and person injustice as a result of the alleged failing.
The complaint
The complainant (Mrs T) complains about the Council failing to collect her household waste on a particular day. She says this was due to accessibility issues the bin lorry encountered when collecting waste on her street. She says this has happened in the past, though refers to the Council’s bin lorries returning later in the day where waste had not been collected earlier in the day.
In summary, Mrs T says missed bin collections result in rubbish bags attracting vermin and being opened by foxes. She says this then leads to waste being blown across the street. As a desired outcome, she wants the Council to ensure timely collecting of household waste.
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 investigate if we decide 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 the complainant and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Ombudsman is only required to accept a complaint where the complainant has been caused a significant and personal injustice because of fault by the Council. This means Mrs T would need to show she has suffered serious loss, harm or distress due to the missed collection by the Council. While I recognise what Mrs T says and that the alleged fault has caused her inconvenience, I do not consider this to be a matter which has caused her serious loss, harm or distress and therefore warrants our involvement. I did consider what Mrs T said about past delays by the Council collecting refuse, but note that on these occassions it remedied the problem by returning later in the day.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of Mrs T being caused a significant and person injustice due to the missed bin collection.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman