The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about problems with the assisted bin collection service. This is because the problem has been resolved.
The complaint
The complainant, Ms X, complained about problems with her assisted bin collections over the last four years.
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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I spoke to Ms X and she confirmed the problem has been resolved. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
In response to Ms X’s complaint the Council explained what had gone wrong, apologised, and listed the actions it would take to improve the service. The Council invited Ms X to get in touch if there were any more problems.
I spoke to Ms X and she confirmed the problem has been resolved and she has not had any more problems with the assisted collections.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because the problem has been resolved and Ms X is happy with the outcome.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman