The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about parking permits because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
The complaint
Miss Y complained the Council has unfairly charged her for a second vehicle permit, when she was trying to renew her permit.
Miss Y says this has caused her problems financially and she is seeking a refund of the charge of £76.50.
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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information Miss Y and the Council provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council runs a scheme for resident parking permits. Under the terms and conditions a second permit costs £76.50. The terms, available on the Council’s website, says “It is your [Miss Y’s] responsibility to ensure your vehicle has a valid parking permit” and if your permit expires, you will have to apply for a new one and “you could lose your permit position (rank) and pay a surcharge”.
In this case, Miss Y did not renew her permit in time before it expired. Consequently, she had to apply for a new permit and as explained in the terms and conditions, had to pay a charge, £76.50. As the Council has set this out in its terms, and Miss Y has agreed to the terms when seeking the permit, it has then followed the terms when making the charge. This is not fault and so we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss Y’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman