The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to refund Mr X’s payment for parking following the loss of his parking ticket. This is because the injustice Mr X claims is not significant enough to warrant investigation.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the Council’s policy for lost parking tickets, which meant he paid twice to park in a council-owned car park. He asked the Council to refund his second payment of £33.10 but the Council refused his request.
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 effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We do not investigate all the complaints we receive. In deciding whether to investigate we need to consider various tests. These include the alleged injustice to the person complaining. We only investigate the most serious complaints.
I appreciate Mr X is unhappy he had to pay twice to park his car but the injustice he claims- £33.10- is not significant enough to warrant investigation. We also could not say it was the result of any fault by the Council. This is because the Council has explained the reasons it will not issue Mr X a refund and these reasons are in-line with its policy. The Council’s policy allows for refunds in the event a motorist can provide evidence to show they have paid twice for the same period but Mr X has been unable to locate his original ticket. While I understand this is frustrating for Mr X the Council is entitled to have a policy for lost tickets and to charge motorists for parking where they cannot provide evidence to show they have already paid for their parking. Mr X considers his bank statement provides sufficient evidence to show he did, but the statement does not show the details of the vehicle or the period for which he paid. The Council was therefore entitled to decline to refund the lost ticket charge and it is not for us to criticise its decision.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the injustice Mr X claims is not significant enough to warrant investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman