The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has not replaced a bin it stole or provided a new food caddy. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, says the Council has refused to replace a bin it stole and has not responded to her request for a new food caddy. Mrs X wants the Council to replace her bin and provide a new food caddy.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X had excess recycling. She placed it in her own kitchen bin and placed the bin beside the Council’s recycling bin for collection. Mrs X left a note on the kitchen bin asking the crew to leave the bin. The crew took the excess recycling and the kitchen bin.
Mrs X complained and asked the Council to replace her £70 bin.
In response the Council said recycling should be presented in the Council bins and it cannot take responsibility for additional containers. It acknowledged Mrs X said she had put a note of the kitchen bin but said there was no guarantee the note would still have been on the bin when the crew did the collection. The Council said the crew may have assumed the kitchen bin had been left out for collection. The Council said it would not pay for a new kitchen bin.
Mrs X says it is inconvenient not having a kitchen bin and says she has no money to buy a new one. She also says she requested a new food caddy which the Council has not provided.
I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. I appreciate Mrs X tried to explain she wanted to keep the bin by adding a note but, as the Council said, there is no guarantee the note was seen by the crew and it is understandable the crew may have thought the bin was also for collection. I appreciate the loss of the bin is causing problems but there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation or to say the Council is responsible for the loss of the bin. Mrs X could have placed the excess recycling in a box or a bag which would have removed any possible confusion about what items she wanted removed.
Mrs X says the Council has not responded to her request for a new food caddy. I appreciate this may be frustrating but it does not require an investigation. Mrs X can make another request for a caddy.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman