Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (19 015 343)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 21 Jan 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a parking fine as the Council has cancelled it and refunded the money Mr X has paid.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains about how the Council has dealt with a parking fine it issued to him.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered what Mr X said in his complaint.
What I found
- Mr X is a blue badge holder and received a parking fine for parking on double yellow lines. Mr X says the Council told him there had been an error with the fine and Mr X took that to mean the matter had been resolved. However, Mr X went on holiday soon after, and when he returned, he found the Council had escalated the fine.
- The Council has considered the case and has decided to cancel the fine and issue a refund to Mr X as an error was made in respect of the grounds on which the fine was issued.
Final decision
- As the Council has cancelled the fine and issued a refund to Mr X, my decision is that the Ombudsman will not investigate as it would not lead to a different outcome.
Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman