The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the administrative charge the Council made to Ms X for her car parking permit refund. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.
The complaint
Ms X complains that despite having been asked to move by the Council, when she sought a refund on her car parking permit, she was charged an administrative fee. She also complains about its handling of her complaint about the matter.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’ which we call ‘fault’. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended) 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, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (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, including its response to the complaint.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
When Ms X complained to the Council about having to pay an administrative charge to receive a refund on her car parking permit, the Council explained the charge was in accordance with the terms and conditions when Ms X made her application for a permit.
It is not our role to act as a point of appeal against decisions made by councils with which complainants disagree. While Ms X may be disappointed at having to pay a charge, the Council properly followed its normal procedures and there are no grounds which warrant an investigation.
We will not investigate complaint handling when we are not investigating the substantive issue.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman