Bucks Council apologises but refuses to pay resident in waste collection dispute

The unitary authority has apologised to the individual but would not compensate them, according to a decision by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

The watchdog, which handles complaints against councils, said a resident known only as X complained to the council that their garden waste was not collected on three occasions.

X paid £59 this year for a garden waste subscription service from the council, which contracts its waste collection service to a third-party provider.

The authority told X it had investigated the matter, visited their home, and verified X’s waste collection point.

The ombudsman said: “It accepted its service had not been to the standard it expected.

“To remedy the issues found, it said it would provide training for its collection staff, would monitor X’s collections for a period, and arranged for an additional collection for the remaining garden waste. The Council apologised for the poor service.”

But the resident, whose complaint has been kept anonymous, said they ‘remained dissatisfied’ and requested that the council reimburse their garden waste subscription costs or provide them with free garden waste collection in 2024/25.

X claimed the debacle had caused them ‘frustration and a loss of service’, but the council said it would not reimburse the cost.

The ombudsman said the council’s actions were ‘appropriate’ and that it could not investigate the complaint due to ‘insufficient’ evidence.