Cheshire East Council (24 007 228)
Category : Environment and regulation > Refuse and recycling
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 15 Sep 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council damaged and subsequently refused to replace his garden waste bin. This is because the alleged injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council refused to replace his damaged garden waste bin. Mr X said the Council damaged his bin during a collection.
- Mr X said the matter caused him frustration.
- Mr X wants the Council to replace his bin free of charge.
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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council damaged his garden waste bin during a collection and subsequently refused to replace it free of charge. The Council determined the cause of the damage to Mr X’s bin was due to wear and tear. The Council’s policy states that it charges for replacement bins due to wear and tear.
- Mr X disagrees and says the damage was caused by the Council’s waste collection service.
- We will not investigate this complaint. The cost of a new bin is £37.91. Therefore, there is insufficient injustice to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman, and so we will not investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the injustice claimed is not significant enough to justify the Ombudsman’s involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman