Miss A complained that the Council did not provide her with a response to a formal complaint she submitted in relation to waste collections. Miss A stated that whilst assurances had been made over multiple telephone calls by the Council, at the time of submitting her complaint, her waste had not been collected for 6 weeks.
The Ombudsman found that the Council had failed to provide Miss A with a response to her complaint as well as act on the assurances made to her about collecting her waste. As Miss A is registered as disabled, having issues with her mobility, she has been unable to remove the waste herself. The Ombudsman accepted that the Council failed to collect Miss A’s waste or provide her with a response and decided to settle the complaint without an investigation.
The Ombudsman sought and gained Flintshire County Council’s agreement to contact Miss A within 1 week to arrange for her outstanding waste to be collected. Flintshire County Council also agreed to write a letter of apology, within 2 weeks, to Miss A for their failings as well as to complete an investigation, within 4 weeks, into why her waste was not collected. Within 2 weeks of the completion of the investigation, Flintshire County Council agreed to implement practical measures to address their failings and to write to Miss A setting out the outcome and actions of the investigation.