Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to issue Mr X with a new parking permit. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s refusal to renew his parking permit. He says he has had to pay £2,500 in off street parking charges and has been unable to use his car for months.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 an organisation’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)
3. The Ombudsman investigates 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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X applied to renew his parking permit in August 2021. The Council rejected his application because he failed to include a copy of his driving licence which is one of the requirements of the application and confirms his address in the zone. Mr X says he has paid £2,500 in off-street parking charges since then and incurred a parking penalty because he has no valid permit.
7. The submission of a valid driving licence is one of the documents required by the Council to confirm that an applicant is eligible for a permit for their parking zone. The Council advised Mr X of the requirement when his application was rejected and he could have provided the document within days without forfeiting his fee.
8. We may not question the merits of decisions which have been properly made. We do not comment on judgements councils make, unless they are affected by fault in the decision-making process. In this case the Council’s application and website made it clear which documents were required. It was reasonable for Mr X to provide a copy of his driving licence to meet the requirements and he has had the opportunity to do since August 2021.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to issue Mr X with a new parking permit. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman