Summary: Mr X complained the Council repeatedly missed bin collections causing distress and inconvenience. We found the Council at fault. We recommended it provide a further apology to Mr X, pay him £100 for distress, act to prevent recurrence and consider a remedy for others affected.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council missing bin collections repeatedly over many years. He says animals tear up the waste bags throwing rubbish everywhere, causing distress and inconvenience.

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What I have and have not investigated

2. I have investigated the complaint above limited to the 12 month period before Mr X contacted the Ombudsman. This is because any earlier issues are out of time and there is no good reason to exercise discretion.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. 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)
6. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I spoke to Mr X and I reviewed documents provided by Mr X and the Council.
8. I gave Mr X and the Council an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

Council policy

9. The Council’s website says it will collect rubbish weekly and recycling every two weeks.

What happened

10. On 17 June 2022 Mr X complained to the Council his rubbish had not been collected for two weeks without good reason.
11. The Council told Mr X it would carry out an audit of collections to make improvements.
12. In August Mr X complained again. He said the Council missed collections on 9, 16, and 23 June, 14 July, 4 August, and 11 August.
13. The Council responded in September. In summary it:
• Accepted and apologised for the shortfall in service.
• Said the audit showed collections had improved. This was due to complete in four weeks.
• It expected to identify any further improvements following the audit.
• It would update him again at the end of October.
• He could contact the Ombudsman.
14. On 1 November the Council told Mr X it had completed the audit. A manager was monitoring the route and expected the service to improve.
15. Mr X reported further missed collections to the Council on 21 October and 11 November.
16. Mr X then complained to the Ombudsman. He said the Council also missed collections on 1, 8 and 15 December and 5 January.
17. In response to enquiries the Council said:
• It did not hold data for the reasons for each missed collection from June to November 2022. Sometimes rounds were started late and sometimes there were unexpected delays during rounds.
• The crew worked until a set time and so there was no capacity to complete the work later if there were issues on the round. Where possible and resources allowed, the refuse was collected on a different day during the same week. (I have used “crew” to refer to any staff serving the relevant round).
• It enclosed records showing it observed the crew for a week in May. Although they collected rubbish at Mr X’s road that week, each day they failed to collect rubbish from some roads. The observer found they were slower than other crews.
• From 19 July it observed the crew for four days. It has provided the records for three of those days. The records show the crew missed out roads every day.
• The audit consisted of coaching the crew to improve efficiency of collections. It also provided advice regarding the route being taken. 
• It met with the crew in October to discuss feedback on the audits, observations and recommendations. There was initial improvement but this was not sustained. It met with one member of the crew again and discussed the formal process it would follow should the improvement not be sustained. Since this meeting there has been sustained improvement. 
• There have been some occasions where work has been missed due to vehicle issues. These issues have been checked by workshops and identified as genuine faults with the vehicle. From 1 November 2022 to 28 February 2023 there were five missed collections.
• Six other roads were regularly affected by missed collections.

Findings

18. It is evident the Council repeatedly failed to collect Mr X’s rubbish weekly, contrary to its policy. This is fault. Mr X suffered from a loss of service and from the build up of waste, causing distress. This is injustice.
19. I am satisfied the Council took action to address and resolve issues with the crew’s working practice. However, I have seen no good reason for the delay in action between the July audit and the October meeting. Such delay in action amounts to fault. Mr X suffered missed bin collections for a longer period as a result. This injustice.
20. I have not seen anything to suggest the Council has taken action to ensure it still collects rubbish where a vehicle fails. This is fault. Mr X continued to suffer missed bin collections as a result. This injustice.
21. The Council accepts it has regularly failed to collect waste from other households. This is fault. It is likely these households will have suffered injustice too.

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Agreed action

22. To remedy the injustice set out above the Council should take the following actions:
23. Within one month:
• Provide Mr X with a further apology.
• Pay Mr X £100 for distress.
24. Within three months:
• Ensure it has a process in place that allows it to meet its policy to collect rubbish weekly, even where there are faults with its vehicles.
• Review any complaints received from other households about the same issue in the last 12 months and consider whether to provide a remedy for any injustice suffered.
25. The Council has accepted my recommendations.
26. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

27. I find the Council at fault because it did not collect Mr X’s rubbish in line with its policy or resolve this in a timely manner. The Council has accepted my recommendations and I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman