The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Ms X complained about problems with an assisted bin collection service which has been in place since March 2021. She said there had been repeated missed collections and bins were left blocking the driveway, which restricted access for her partner who is a wheelchair user. We found fault with the Council and it has agreed to our recommendations to remedy the injustice caused and restore the service to the expected level.
The complaint
Ms X complains about problems with an assisted bin collection service in place since March 2021. She says there have been repeated missed collections over several weeks and bins were left blocking the driveway, which restricted access for her partner who is a wheelchair user.
Ms X says these faults have caused her frustration and she has spent unnecessary time and trouble in trying to resolve the matter.
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 considered the information provided by Ms X and spoke to her about the complaint. I considered the information provided by the Council in its response to Ms X’s complaint.
Ms X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I have considered their comments before issuing the final decision.
What I found
Councils, as local waste collection authorities have a duty to collect domestic waste and recycling from households.
The Council’s policy available on its website states it will: provide a fortnightly recycling collection, alternating between food/garden waste and recyclables; provide a weekly black bag household waste collection; provide an assisted collection service for residents who are unable to present their bins or bags at the kerbside due to infirmity, serious long-term illness or disability and there are no other members of the household able to do so; and collect a missed bin or bag collection by the end of the next working day if it has been correctly reported to the Council.
This chronology includes key events and does not cover everything that happened.
Ms X and her partner moved into their property in March 2021. They have an assisted collection arrangement in place for their household and recycling waste.
On 26 May 2022, Ms X made a formal complaint about repeated missed collections over the last year. Ms X said she had reported missed collections on almost a weekly basis; bins were left uncollected for 2 to 4 weeks and left at the top of the driveway blocking access for her partner.
On 10 June 2022, the Council responded to Ms X’s complaint and apologised for the poor service Ms X had received. The Council said it was struggling with waste collections across the district due to staff shortages. It said the issues would be escalated to ensure the service improved.
Ms X responded and said staff shortages did not explain why their neighbours’ bins were collected as scheduled but not theirs. Ms X explained they had an assisted collection and appeared to receive a substandard service in comparison to other residents.
On 4 July 2022 Ms X contacted the Council again as she had not received a response to her previous email. Ms X said she continued to report missed collections one of which remained unresolved for 7 to 9 weeks. Two days later Ms X reported another missed collection.
A week later Ms X contacted that Council again and said the collection crew had moved their green bin to the top of the driveway and left it there unemptied, blocking their driveway and access for her partner. Ms X said she reported the issue and the crew returned to empty the bin but still left it at the top of the driveway. Ms X said her partner was prevented from leaving the property as she was not at home to help.
On 2 September 2022 the Council responded to Ms X’s complaint at stage 2 of its complaint procedure. It confirmed that Ms X’s property was listed for an assisted collection and the collection crew had been provided with specific instructions to return the bins to the correct location to ensure the driveway was not left blocked. The Council said it would monitor the collections to prevent further issues.
Ms X reported two further missed collections in September 2022, after the Council issued its stage two response. She reported another missed collection in October 2022 and said it took the Council three days to return and collect the waste.
Analysis The Council has already accepted fault in its complaint response to Ms X. In response to our enquiries the Council confirmed Ms X had reported 39 individual missed collections or issues with her waste collection since March 2021.
It is clear the Council consistently failed to collect Ms X’s waste over a sustained period. These service failings amount to fault. Ms X and her partner have experienced inconvenience, frustration and disappointment with the missed collections and Ms X has been put to unnecessary time and trouble in repeatedly trying to resolve the matter.
I also have concerns about the Council’s monitoring of the service following complaints made by Ms X. The Council assured Ms X it would monitor her collection. However, Ms X reported two further missed collections in September 2022 and a further missed collection in October 2022. This was fault and added to Ms X’s injustice.
We welcome the steps outlined by the Council in its stage 2 response. However, we make further recommendations to acknowledge the fault and injustice, as set out below.
Agreed action
Within one month of my final decision the Council has agreed to: pay Ms X £200 in recognition of the inconvenience, frustration, and difficulties the repeated failure to empty her bins and return them to the correct location, over a sustained period caused.
Within three months of my final decision the Council has agreed to: ensure effective monitoring of all the collections from Ms X’s property (this should include evidence of both the collection of the bins and their return to the correct location for each collection) to ensure service improvements are fully embedded and prevent repeat practice of the issues that caused Ms X to complain to the Council and then the Ombudsman; and explain to the Ombudsman the actions it has taken to address the staff shortages outlined in its stage one response to Ms X.
Final decision
I have completed my investigation finding fault by the Council causing injustice to Ms X and her partner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman