The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaints about the charges for her garden waste collection or her missed bin collection. This is because the claimed injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.
The complaint
Mrs X complained the Council overcharged her for her garden waste collection between 2015-2023. Mrs X also complained about missed garden waste collections. Mrs X says the matters complained about caused her distress and frustration.
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 or continue an investigation if we decide: any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X complained the Council charged her for a large garden waste bin between 2015-2023. In 2023, she discovered she had a small garden waste bin and said she should have been charged at a lower rate. Mrs X also said her garden waste bin was not collected for six weeks in May 2023.
The Council responded and told Mrs X it was her responsibility to ensure she paid the correct amount for her bin size. It offered her £16 or three-months’ free garden waste collection as a gesture of goodwill and said it updated its records to ensure she would not be overcharged in the future.
The Council told Mrs X it would monitor her garden waste collections but explained it would not pay Mrs X for any missed collections.
Analysis We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaints. Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
Mrs X paid a slightly higher rate for garden waste collections between 2015-2023. Even if the Council overcharged Mrs X the injustice caused by the alleged fault is not significant enough to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman. The Council has amended its records and offered Mrs X a symbolic payment or 3 months’ free collections. Further investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve a different outcome.
Mrs X complained the Council failed to collect her bin over a six-week period in May 2023. While I acknowledge this may have caused Mrs X frustration, the Council responded and explained it would monitor her collections ongoing. Any injustice caused is not significant enough to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman, and we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the claimed injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman