Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about parking enforcement officers walking around the complainant’s car. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault and injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains about two parking enforcement officers. He says their actions made him feel nervous, distressed and anxious. He wants an assurance the incident will not happen again.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and the Council’s response. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

What happened

4. Mr X parked in a car park and displayed his parking ticket. He was approached by two parking enforcement officers who asked to see the ticket and then walked around his car. Mr X says their conduct was suspicious and intimidatory. Mr X complained to the Council.
5. In response the Council explained that an officer may ask to see a ticket if they cannot see it. The Council also explained that officers have to inspect cars to check they are correctly parked. The Council said the officers issued a Penalty Charge Notice to an adjacent car which may explain the activity near to Mr X’s car. The Council apologised because Mr X felt upset but said the officers were doing their job and there was no intention to intimidate him.

Assessment

6. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The job of enforcement officers is to check that people have parked their cars correctly. This will involve walking around cars, taking photographs, and talking to people. There is nothing to suggest the officers were doing anything other than their job so it would not be possible for the Council to give an assurance that the incident would not be repeated.
7. I also will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of injustice. Mr X was not issued with a Penalty Charge Notice and nothing happened other than he demonstrated that he had paid for his parking. I appreciate Mr X felt nervous and distressed but this does not represent a level of injustice which requires an investigation by the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

8. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault and injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman