The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a lost ticket fee Ms C was required to pay at a Council car park. This is because the Council has agreed to issue a refund to Ms C.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will refer to as Ms C, complains that she was required to pay a lost ticket fee of £29.40 at a Council car park after the payment machine did not return her ticket. Ms C complains that the Council refused to issue a refund for this fee – which is equivalent to a full day charge for parking - even though she provided evidence from her bank to show she had paid for parking.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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) We may decide not to start an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms C and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We asked the Council to have another look at its decision not to issue Ms C with a refund for the lost ticket fee she was required to pay. This was because it was not clear that the Council had given proper consideration to the information Ms C provided with her request for a refund.
The Council has now agreed to issue Ms C with a refund. This puts right the injustice suffered by Ms C, so an investigation by the Ombudsman is not warranted.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms C’s complaint because the Council has now agreed to provide Ms C with the refund she requested.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman