The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We upheld Mrs X’s complaint about missed recycling collections between May and October 2021 and a failure to respond to her complaints. This caused avoidable frustration, inconvenience and time and trouble. The Council has already apologised and taken action to minimise the chance of recurrence. It has also agreed to pay Mrs X £150.
The complaint
Mrs X complained the Council did not collect her recycling between May and October 2021 and did not respond to her complaints. She said this caused avoidable frustration, inconvenience and time and trouble.
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) North Somerset Environmental Company (NSEC) provides waste and recycling services for the Council. We can investigate it.
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 considered information from the Council and Mrs X and discussed the complaint with her. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.
What I found
Relevant policy NSEC collects recycling weekly. Residents place their bins at the edge of their property by 6.30 am on their collection day. Residents can report missed collections on-line by the end of the next working day but should first check the missed collection report which is also available-on line. NSEC will return to collect the recycling within 48 hours.
The Council’s complaints policy is to deal with reports about missed services by forwarding them to the relevant team. If there is not a prompt resolution of the issue, the complaints’ team should log the issue as a formal complaint requiring a written response.
What happened Mrs X complained in May 2021 about two missed recycling collections. The Council sent a written response to her complaint within two days, apologising, saying the collection would be completed within two days and that it would investigate further issues.
Mrs X sent another missed collection complaint in August. She received no response. Mrs X told me there were further missed collections, which she reported on-line, but did not record the dates. Mrs X said there was no problem with her neighbour’s collection, so she placed the bin on their drive, but the crew still did not empty it. She said this was inconvenient because she was pregnant.
Mrs X sent a further missed collection complaint in September. She also asked about her previous complaints. In October, she sent a fourth complaint. She said the Council had not acknowledged her previous complaints.
The Council responded in March 2022 saying it had responded already (see paragraph 10). Unhappy, Mrs X complained to us.
Mrs X told us the Council’s on-line missed collection reports indicated the collection was resolved within 48 hours, but this was not true. She said she was unsure whether the recycling was eventually collected because of her complaints or just co-incidentally.
Since her complaint to us, the Council has apologised to Mrs X, agreed to monitor her recycling collection, to find out what the problem was, to give Mrs X feedback and ensure future issues are resolved promptly.
Was there fault?
The Council has accepted the service to Mrs X was not in line with its standards. This was fault causing avoidable frustration, inconvenience and time and trouble.
The Council’s first complaint response was acceptable. But it failed to respond to further missed collection complaints from Mrs X. This was poor complaint handling and was fault causing avoidable time and trouble.
Agreed actions
When a council commissions another organisation to provide services on its behalf it remains responsible for those services and for the actions of the organisation providing them. So, although I found fault with NSEC, I have made recommendations to the Council.
The Council has agreed: Within one month of this decision, to pay Mrs X £150 to recognise her avoidable inconvenience and time and trouble.
Within two months of this decision to liaise with NSEC to find out what the problem was and draw up an action plan to address any issues identified. The Council will also write to Mrs X to feedback on the outcome.
The Council will also monitor future collections at Mrs X’s property for a further three months after the feedback given to Mrs X to ensure the situation is resolved.
Final decision
I upheld Mrs X’s complaint about missed recycling collections between May and October 2021 and a failure to respond to her complaints. This caused avoidable frustration, inconvenience and time and trouble. The Council has already apologised and taken action to minimise the chance of recurrence. It needs to complete the actions set out in paragraph 18 as a suitable remedy.
I have completed my investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman