The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We find fault in the way the Council provided its assisted bin collection services to the complainant’s (Mr Y) late sister-in-law (Mrs X). Mr Y was supporting Mrs X in her dealings with the Council. Failings with the Council’s assisted bin collection service caused him injustice. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Mr Y for the distress as well as time and trouble and to implement service improvements
The complaint
Mr Y says the Council regularly failed to collect Mrs X’s bin since she had been unable to put the refuse bin out and sought the assisted bin collection. Most weeks one of them had to make phone calls to ask for the collection. This caused them both frustration and they incurred extra costs of telephone calls.
Mr Y supported Mrs X when she complained about the bin collection services to the Council and represented her when she complained to us.
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) We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended) When someone has died, we will not normally seek a remedy for injustice caused to that person in the same way as we might for someone who is still living. We would not expect a public or private body to make a payment to someone’s estate. However, if we consider the person who has complained to us has been adversely affected, we may recommend a remedy for their own injustice.
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 reviewed all the documents provided by Mr Y and the Council.
I reviewed information about assisted bin collection on the Council’s website and the Ombudsman’s “Good Administrative Practice” guide (the Guide).
Mr Y and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.
What I found
Legal and administrative background Councils have a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to collect household waste and recycling from properties in their area. Collections do not have to be weekly and councils can decide which bins or boxes people must use.
To help local authorities understand the founding principles of good administrative practice the Ombudsman published a “Good Administrative Practice” guide. It explains: organisations working on a council’s behalf should adhere to the council’s policies, guidance and good practice legislation; councils should have appropriate skills and capacity to effectively manage third-party suppliers delivering services on its behalf; where things go wrong councils should put things right quickly and effectively.
The Council’s assisted bin collection procedure Details of the assisted bin collection can be found on the Council’s website: the waste management team will visit and evaluate needs; there needs to be access to the bin from 7:00am; the collection crew will pull out bins to be emptied and return them afterwards; incorrectly presented bins will not be collected; large bins can be exchanged for smaller bins.
In response to our enquiries the Council explained what should happen when the bin collection gets missed. If missed bins are reported before 12pm, the Council will collect them on the same day. If missed bins are reported after 12pm, they will be collected on the following working day.
Key events Assisted bin collection The Council agreed to provide Mrs X the assisted bin collection service in January 2021. The bins collection happens every two weeks.
Since January 2021 Mrs X on many occasions found her black bin not emptied on the collection days and had to call the Council.
The Council recorded 29 missed bin collection from Mrs X’s property.
Complaint process Mrs X complained to the Council about the unreliable bin collection service in the beginning of November 2021.
The Council responded ten days later, apologising for its failings. The response included the Council’s undertaking to remind the crew of their responsibility and directing them to tell the Council if any problems occur.
In the third week of December 2021, with no improvement in the collection service, Mrs X lodged another complaint.
In its response sent three days later the Council again apologised and promised improvement in the assisted bin collection.
The problem continued and prompted another complaint which the Council considered at stage two of the complaint process.
When responding to the stage two complaint, the Council apologised again and undertook to oversee collecting Mrs X’s bin as well as to find out reasons for the failure to collect it. It said if the bin collection was missed again for the reasons within the Council’s control, the Council would formally deal with the crew.
Directly after the Council’s stage two response Mrs X’s bin was collected and emptied without a telephone call, but in the beginning of February 2022 the problem with the bin collection service happened again.
Mr Y assisted Mrs X throughout the complaint process. He also represented her when she complained to us.
Mrs X passed away in May 2022.
Record keeping As part of my enquiries I asked the Council to provide me with evidence of the instructions given to the bin collecting crew following Mrs X’s complaints. I also asked for any monitoring records.
The Council responded to my enquiries with significant delay and after multiple reminders. There was no evidence sent with the Council’s brief response to my enquiries.
Analysis The Council was at fault for missing Mrs X’s bin collections. This continued for many months. Each time after Mrs X’s telephone call the Council would provide the service. This is fault. Residents should not have to remind the Council to collect their waste.
During the complaint process the Council admitted its failings by apologising and undertaking actions to improve the bin collection service for Mrs X. Despite its assurances, the Council failed to effectively check Mrs X’s bin collection and improve its collection services. This is fault.
Despite my specific request, the Council failed to send any records of its dealings with the bin collecting crew following Mrs X’s reports of the missed bin collections and her complaints. On balance, I consider it more likely than not that the Council does not keep relevant records, which is fault.
We cannot remedy injustice to Mrs X as she has now passed away. I recognise, however, the Council’s failings with the assisted bin collection for Mrs X caused injustice also to Mr Y, who assisted his sister-in-law throughout the process and supported her when she complained to the Council and to us.
Agreed action
To remedy the injustice caused by the faults identified, we recommend the Council within four weeks of my final decision complete the following: pay Mr Y £150 for the distress as well as time and trouble he experienced when pursuing this complaint on Mrs X’s behalf. This was made worse by the Council’s delay in responding to the Ombudsman’s enquiries.
The Council has provided evidence it has now completed our recommended service improvements: reviewing the monitoring process to ensure that the bin collecting crew knows of all assisted bin collections and ensure they are successfully completed; reviewing the system for reporting missed collections to ensure they are accurately and consistently recorded, correct data is going through to the bin collecting crew and there are records of any instructions given to the crew.
Final decision
I find fault in the way the Council provided assisted bin collection services to Mrs X. This fault has caused Mr Y injustice. The Council has now completed service improvement recommendations and agreed to complete a personal remedy so this investigation is now at an end.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman