Cherwell District Council (19 006 798)

Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 02 Oct 2019

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about an excess charge notice issued by the Council’s contractor. The Council has agreed to cancel the notice and refund Miss X’s payment and this provides a suitable remedy for the complaint.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, Miss X, complains about the handling of her challenge to an excess charge notice (ECN).

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I reviewed Miss X’s complaint, made enquiries of the Council and considered its response.

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What I found

  1. The Council issued Miss X an ECN for parking in a council-run car park without paying the fee in July 2019. Miss X says she paid using her mobile phone but could not send a message confirming her vehicle registration number. She challenged the ECN with the Council’s contractor but the contractor refused to cancel the ECN. Miss X complained to the Council and it agreed to cancel the ECN and refund her payment.
  2. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. The Council’s agreement to cancel the ECN and refund Miss X’s payment provides a suitable remedy for the injustice Miss X claims. It is therefore unlikely we would recommend anything further for Miss X or that investigation would achieve any worthwhile outcome.

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Final decision

  1. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council has provided a suitable remedy for Miss X’s injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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