The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about missed bin collections because the Council apologised, arranged additional collections, and sent reminders to staff. An investigation is unlikely to achieve anything further.
The complaint
Ms X complained the Council failed to empty her bin. Ms X said the matter persisted over several collection periods.
Ms X said the matter caused her frustration and time and trouble to resolve.
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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Missed collections to January 2026 Ms X complained her bin was not emptied on several occasions. In its complaint response, the Council informed Ms X it could not identify a reason her bin was not emptied. It apologised and said it reminded officers to empty her bin. It also returned at later points to empty the missed collections.
We will not investigate this complaint. The Council apologised for the missed collections, arranged for replacement pick-ups, and sent reminders to crews. An investigation by us is unlikely to achieve anything further. Therefore, we will not investigate.
Matters after bringing the complaint to the Ombudsman Ms X complained to the Ombudsman in February 2026. In response to our enquiries, Ms X told us the issues have mostly been resolved, with some intermittent missed collections addressed on an individual basis.
Although the intermittent missed collections may have caused Ms X some frustration and time and trouble, this is not a significant enough injustice to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman. Therefore, we will not investigate the period from February 2026 to date.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the tests in our assessment code are not met.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman