Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council attaching a parking ticket to Mr B’s windscreen which left a sticky residue. This is because Mr B has not suffered a serious or significant injustice which would justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains the Council issued his vehicle with a parking ticket which left a sticky residue on the windscreen. Mr B complains the adhesive is difficult to remove but the Council has refused to take responsibility or offer compensation. Mr B says he has not had the time to address this issue and the Council’s refusal to pay compensation has added to his stress and frustration.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 an investigation if we decide:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

3. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr B.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council says it uses an easy peel adhesive but this may become stuck if a ticket has been left for a while or during extreme weather. The Council provided Mr B with advice about how to remove the adhesive.
7. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint.
8. Mr B may follow the advice provided by the Council about how to remove this adhesive.
9. Mr B may be put to some inconvenience and may possibly incur some modest costs for cleaning materials. But, we have limited resources and must focus our investigations on complaints where a person has suffered a serious or significant injustice. I find Mr B has not suffered a serious or significant injustice which would justify an investigation or the pursuit of a financial remedy by the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because he has not suffered a serious or significant injustice which would justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman