The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a bulky waste collection because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, says the Council did not remove all the bulky waste items he had paid for. He also says the crew were verbally abusive.
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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence and a photograph of the waste. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X paid £42 for a bulky waste collection. The Council’s job sheet says Mr X booked the removal of two bed frames and mattresses.
In his complaint to us Mr X says he paid for the collection of two bed frames, a guest bed, a couple of mattresses and some bed springs. In his complaint to the Council Mr X said he booked one single bed and mattress and one base.
I have seen a photograph of the items Mr X presented for collection. The photo includes five bed frames, four mattresses and about two sets of bed springs.
Mr X complained to the Council that the crew did not collect all the items. The Council said the crew collected the items he paid for and, as a goodwill gesture, returned and collected another item. The Council said it would collect the other items if Mr X paid for a second collection.
Mr X says he has already paid for all the items. He also says the crew put an item on his neighbour’s garden and the crew were rude and aggressive.
The Council’s website states there is a charge of £27 for one item (includes one bed/mattress) and a charge of £15 for each additional item.
I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. I cannot find out what Mr X said on the phone when he ordered the collection because the call was not recorded. However, he paid £42 which is the charge for the collection of two items. The Council removed more than two items so there is nothing to suggest Mr X has not received the service he paid for.
We make evidenced based decisions; as there is no independent evidence of what happened between Mr X and the crew, I cannot make any comments about whether anyone was abusive or rude. For the same reason, I cannot say how an item ended up in the neighbour’s garden.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman