Summary: We will not investigate part of Mrs X’s complaint about issues with the Council’s refuse and recycling collections in 2022 and 2023 because the complaint is late. We will not investigate another part of Mrs X’s complaint about matters in 2024 because an investigation is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council failed to collect her refuse and recycling on several occasions between 2022 and late 2024. Mrs X also complained about the Council’s complaints process.
2. Mrs X said the matter caused her frustration.
3. Mrs X wants the Council to provide a financial remedy.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. 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)
6. 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:

• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaints about her refuse and recycling collections before January 2024. This is because Mrs X brought her complaint to the Ombudsman in January 2025. The law says we cannot investigate complaints more than 12 months old unless we decide there are good reasons. I have seen no good reasons Mrs X could not have brought her complaints about matters between 2022 and 2023 to the Ombudsman sooner. Therefore, we will not investigate those complaints.
10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint that the Council failed to collect her refuse and recycling in 2024. This is because in its complaint response the Council upheld the complaint. It explained Mrs X reported four missed collections in 2024. It apologised and explained improvements it had made to its services. It also told Mrs X it would monitor her collections and offered her a £100 symbolic payment to acknowledge the frustration caused.
11. An investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome, and so we will not investigate this complaint.
12. Mrs X complained about the Council’s complaints handling. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue. Therefore, we will not investigate this matter.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate part of Mrs X’s complaint because it is late. We will not investigate another part of Mrs X’s complaint because an investigation is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman