Summary: Mrs X complained APCOA, the operator working on behalf of the Council, unfairly issued her a parking ticket, and about the way APCOA handled the case. In considering the complaint we have identified APCOA is enforcing parking tickets using the wrong legislation and therefore the wrong process.

Finding

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.

Recommendations

To remedy the injustice caused the Council has agreed to:

• apologise to Mrs X for:
  • not providing a reasonable means for her to pay the parking charge;
  • issuing the wrong type of ticket;
  • failing to reset the discount period;
  • not handling the on-line chat appropriately and not refunding the excess charge as promised until our involvement; and
  • not dealing properly with Mrs X’s complaint about not refunding this;
• pay her £100 for the avoidable frustration and distress caused by the faults identified; and
• issue guidance to staff dealing with customer enquiries and concerns on how to respond appropriately to questions involving all operators acting on its behalf.
• review with APCOA the processes for accepting payment when a ticket machine is not working. If APCOA is not able to accept calls from withheld numbers and there is no way for those customers to pay, it should consider not enforcing whilst the machine is not working; and
• review its processes for enforcing ECNs to ensure it is using the correct processes and is complying with the requirements of the Road Traffic and Regulation Act 1984.

Ombudsman satisfied with Council's response: 23 December 2019.

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