The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed bin collections, including the Council’s communication with Mr X about the same matter. The Council has already remedied Mr X’s injustice and there are no wider public interest issues remaining to justify an investigation.
The complaint
Mr X says the Council was at fault in the way it communicated with him about his concerns relating to missed bin collections. Mr X says the Council’s explanations were inadequate, meaning he had to repeatedly make follow-up enquiries and, as a result, experienced a poor service.
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 or continue with 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 the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X said the Council missed a bin collection and its response to his concerns about this was poor. He said had he had a proper explanation when he initially raised the matter, this may have prevented further collections also being missed. Mr X also said the Council’s complaint response was delayed.
The Council gave Mr X an explanation for why he had experienced a series of missed bin collections and upheld his complaints. It apologised for its poor service and offered him an additional collection to resolve the matter.
I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no unremedied injustice remaining and the Council has taken appropriate corrective action. There are no wider public interest issues that would justify an investigation.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has taken appropriate action to remedy Mr X’s injustice and there are no wider public interest issues to justify an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman