The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mrs D says the Council delayed providing Assisted Collections for garden waste and failed to make regular collections. The Ombudsman has found evidence of fault by the Council. He has completed and upheld the complaint because the Council agrees to pay Mrs D redress.
The complaint
The complainant (whom I refer to as Mrs D) says the Council delayed providing Assisted Collections for garden waste and repeatedly failed to collect her garden waste, as scheduled, in 2021.
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 must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended) If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I have considered the evidence provided by Mrs D. I asked the Council questions and examined its, limited, response.
I shared my draft decision with both parties.
What I found
What happened At the start of August Mrs D paid £61.50 to the Council for its garden waste collection service. She received a bin a few days later. The Council says it sent Mrs D a letter about the service along with a bin sticker at the end of August. Mrs D says she did not receive this. The collections started in September. Mrs D had to request a collection at the outset because her bin was not taken. This happened again in September. On 10 September Mrs D requested the Assisted Collection service for her garden bin. She found it too heavy to move the bin up a few stairs. The Council has failed to provide me with any evidence of when or how this request was considered. Mrs D complained to the Council about the lack of assistance and collections at the end of September. She made a further complaint on 5 October including she had received no reply to her request for Assisted Collections and had not received her bin sticker.
The Council replied on 1 November. It apologised for the delay responding and said the issues had been resolved. The letter failed to address any of the points raised by Mrs D or explain why there had been a delay. On 2 November Mrs D told the Council she was still having missed collections. She also emailed the Council on 8 November explaining she had only received one garden waste collection on the scheduled day since September. She was still waiting to hear about Assisted Collections.
The Council wrote to Mrs D on 21 December. It did not explain why its reply was so delayed. It said officers had to carry out a site visit to check it was safe for the collection crew to move the garden bin up and down stairs. It had now completed the visit and confirmed Assisted Collections could take place.
In January 2022 Mrs D twice told the Council she was still experiencing missed collections. It is unclear whether the Council took any action as a result.
What should have happened The Council provides a garden waste collection service for a fee. Once a resident has paid, the Council provides a bin, a letter about the service and a sticker for the bin to show it is part of the current collection schedule.
If a collection is missed the resident should notify the Council. The Council says it will aim to re-collect within seven working days.
The Council can provide Assisted Collections for people who are unable to move their bins out for collection. The Council says such requests should be processed within 21 days. In some cases an officer may carry out a site visit.
Was there fault by the Council There is clear fault by the Council.
Mrs D paid £61.50 for collection of her garden waste in 2021. Through September 2021 to January 2022 the Council failed to provide a reasonable level of service. The Council says this was due to the bin being heavy and potential risks of moving it up some stairs. Whilst the Council had a duty to carry out checks to see if Assisted Collections were possible this does not explain the problems Mrs D experienced. First, I see no evidence of the Council explaining to Mrs D how it was evaluating her request for an Assisted Collection or the problems with missed collections. The stage one complaint response is extremely weak given it fails to address any of Mrs D’s actual complaint. Second, I have no evidence of when the Council started and completed its review. Either it was done within the expected 21 days and it still then failed to provide Assisted Collections and notify Mrs D, or the review took far longer than usual. In either case the Council is at fault and caused Mrs D unnecessary time and trouble. It could and should have explained to Mrs D in September how it would assess her Assisted Collection request and update her about any delays. In addition, it should have ensured her collections were being correctly made.
Did the fault cause an injustice As a result of the Council’s failings Mrs D had to make numerous calls reporting missed collections. She had to make complaints because the Council failed to act or address her concerns. Furthermore, she was paying for a service that she did not fully receive.
Agreed action
In order to remedy the injustice caused to Mrs D the Council has agreed to pay her £100 for time and trouble and refund £50 of her garden waste fee for 2021.
Final decision
I have upheld the complaint and completed the investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman