Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about inadequate and confusing signage which resulted in him receiving a parking fine. This is because an investigation by the Ombudsman would likely unlikely find fault causing a personal injustice to Mr X.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has provided inadequate and confusing signage about parking restrictions.
2. Mr X says he received a parking fine because of this signage.
3. Mr X complains the Council has delayed in handling his complaint and failed to follow its complaints policy.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. 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 would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained.

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

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have considered Mr X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and the information he provided. I have written to Mr X with my draft decision and given him an opportunity to comment.

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What I found

7. The Council issued Mr X with a parking fine in March 2019 for parking in a restricted area and not in a parking bay.
8. Mr X complains the signage was inadequate for him to find out where he could park.
9. The Council responded to Mr X’s appeal in May 2019 outlining why it had issued Mr X with a parking fine.
10. The Council has provided photographs showing that Mr X parked his car within the restricted area and not in a disabled blue badge spot.
11. The Council has considered Mr X’s points and there is no indication of fault in the way it has considered his appeal. We cannot challenge the decision of the Council simply because Mr X disagrees with it. I have looked at the parking situation through both the photographs and Google-maps street view in reaching this view.
12. The Council has now cancelled Mr X’s parking fine as a gesture of goodwill. Mr X has not suffered a personal injustice which would justify an investigation by the Ombudsman.
13. I note Mr X has raised concerns about the way the Council handled his complaint and delays. But it is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

14. My decision is that the Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about inadequate and confusing signage which resulted in him receiving a parking fine. This is because an investigation by the Ombudsman would likely unlikely find fault causing a personal injustice to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman