The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about missed waste collections. This is because we have decided any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
The complaint
Mr B complains on two occasions in June 2026 the Council failed to collect his waste as scheduled. Mr B says in response to his complaint the Council wrongly concluded the collections did not happen because parked vehicles caused an obstruction. Mr B also says the Council has been inconsistent about how this was reported by refuse staff.
Mr B says this has caused him an injustice because of the inconvenience of his waste not being collected and his time and trouble pursuing a complaint. Mr B is also concerned that the Council’s inaccurate records are a finding against him, and this may affect how future missed collections may be recorded.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
People may complain to us about injustice caused by: ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’ by a public organisation we could investigate; or the actions of an organisation in connection with privately arranged adult social care.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(1) or section 34C(1)(a)).
We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), or section 34B(8)).
We will not normally investigate complaint handling if we are not investigating the rest of the complaint. This is because there is not usually enough injustice to justify us doing so. We collect information about particularly poor complaint handling practice and report this back to organisations. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), or section 34B(8)).
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr B.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The law means we can choose only to investigate a complaint where the person has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by the body complained about. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
I recognise the alleged fault by the Council has caused Mr B some inconvenience and time and trouble, but this is not significant enough to warrant us investigating. We do not investigate complaints about a small number of missed collections and we do not expect councils to make a financial payment in such circumstances. And, an investigation solely into the Council’s handling of Mr B’s complaint is not justified.
If there is a prolonged period of missed collections Mr B may complain to us again. But, as it stands, an investigation is not justified.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman