Summary
Following Miss X’s complaint to us about a penalty charge notice, the Council has apologised to Miss X, cancelled the penalty charge and issued a refund. Miss X has therefore achieved the outcome she was seeking. Further investigation is unlikely to achieve anything more.
The complaint
Miss X complains the Council sent her an inappropriate parking Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) and failed to respond to her appeal against the charge. She says, on the day of the PCN, she first parked in the car park for less than one hour then returned three hours later. Overall, she says she did not park for more than the carpark’s three hour stay limit.
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 no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (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.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about a PCN issued by the Council in November 2024. This is because, following Miss X’s complaint to the Ombudsman, the Council took action that resolved the complaint incidental to the alleged failure by the Council to consider her appeal against the PCN. The Council apologised to Miss X, cancelled the penalty charge and issued a full refund of almost £400. The Council also made a connected service improvement. The Council told its parking enforcement contractor about the incorrect contravention code used by its officer when issuing the PCN.
Miss X has therefore achieved the outcome she was seeking. We are unlikely to achieve anything more by investigating the complaint.
Final decision
Following Miss X’s complaint to us about a penalty charge notice, the Council has apologised to Miss X, cancelled the penalty charge and issued a refund. Miss X has therefore achieved the outcome she was seeking. Further investigation is unlikely to achieve anything more.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman