Summary: Ms X complained the Council had overcharged her and others at its car park since 2016, causing financial loss. We did not investigate the complaint prior to November 2021. We found the Council at fault because it did not provide clear information on car park charges resulting in Miss X overpaying. We recommended the Council provide an apology to Miss X and pay her £100 for time and trouble. Further, that it review its current practice.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has incorrectly charged her and others using its Charlotte Street car park (the “car park”) since 2016. She is also unhappy with its handling of her complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
5. We may investigate matters coming to our attention during an investigation, if we consider that a member of the public who has not complained may have suffered an injustice as a result. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26D and 34E, as amended)
6. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I spoke to Ms X and I reviewed documents provided by Ms X and the Council.
8. I gave Ms X and the Council an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Parking enforcement

9. If the Council believes a parking contravention has occurred it may issue a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). (Traffic Management Act 2004, Part 6)
10. The person liable to pay a PCN can either pay the charge or make representations to an enforcement authority. (Traffic Management Act 2004, section 80)
11. If an enforcement authority does not accept a person’s representations they can appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. (Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Representations and Appeals) (England) General Regulations, 2007, Section 9)

Traffic management orders

12. A council may provide suitable parking places for vehicles in their area. (Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, Section 32(1) and Parts I to III of Schedule 9)
13. By way of a Traffic Regulation Order a council may outline:
• The use of the parking place.
• The conditions on which the parking place may be used.
• The charges to in connection with its use and removal of any vehicle left in contravention of the order. (Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, Section 35)

Guidance on signage

14. Councils must have regard to the statutory guidance about enforcing traffic contraventions. (Traffic Management Act 2004, section 87)
15. The Operational Guidance to Local Authorities: Parking Policy and Enforcement 2015 says councils should ensure they make clear to motorists any parking restrictions outlined in a Traffic Regulation Order through appropriate and legal traffic signs. (Traffic Management Act 2004, Operational Guidance to Local Authorities: Parking Policy and Enforcement 2015, Section 2.12) (Withdrawn 28 March 2018)
16. A council should not issue Penalty Charge Notice (PCNs) where traffic signs are incorrect, missing or not in accordance with the Traffic Regulation Order. (Traffic Management Act 2004, Operational Guidance to Local Authorities: Parking Policy and Enforcement 2015, Section 8.35). (Withdrawn 28 March 2018)
17. Councils are responsible for the accuracy and condition of the traffic signs that identify parking restrictions in their area. (Traffic Management Act 2004, Operational Guidance to Local Authorities: Parking Policy and Enforcement 2015, Annex D1). (Withdrawn 28 March 2018)
18. The Statutory Guidance to local authorities in England on civil enforcement of parking contraventions was updated in October 2022 but remains consistent with the 2015 Guidance.

Principles of Good Administrative Practice

19. In 2018 the Ombudsman published a guidance document setting out the standards we expect from bodies in jurisdiction “Principles of Good Administrative Practice”. This includes:
• Being open and clear about policies and procedures and ensuring information, and any advice provided, is clear, accurate and complete.

Council’s Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs)

20. The Council has provided copies of the TROs in effect in the car park since 2016. I have only referred to parts relevant to this case.

TRO 2018

• Parking with charges, every day 8am to 8pm
• Up to 4 hours £6.40
• Up to 6 hours £9.60
• Up to 12 hours £15.00
• Every day 6pm to 8pm up to 2 hours £1.50
• Parking at no charge every day from 8pm to 8am

TRO 2022 (effective from 31 October 2022)

• Parking with charges, every day 8am to 8pm
• Up to 4 hours £6.40
• Up to 6 hours £10.20
• Up to 24 hours £17.10
• Every day 6pm to 8pm up to 2 hours £1.50
• Every day 8pm to 8am £1.50

Council’s signage

In 2018

21. Pay and Display sign says:
• Download the Mipermit app or use the online portal
• Charging periods (7 days a week 8am to 8pm including Bank holidays)
• Up to 4 hours - £6.40
• Up to 6 hours £9.60
• Up to 12 hours £15.00
• Evening 6pm to 8pm up to 2 hours £1.50
• 8pm to 8am no charge
22. Pay and Display machine sign says:
• Tariff charges apply every day including bank holidays 8am to 8pm
• 4 hours £6.40
• 6 hours £9.60
• 12 hours £15.00
• Evening 6pm to 8pm £1.50
• Instructions for use:
1. Check tariff
2. Insert coins (no change given)
3. Press green button etc
23. For card payments use Mipermit, see tariff board for further details.
24. Paying for parking by card and on your mobile phone sign says:
• New customer text the word PARK and Location number and the Council will call back for location and payment details
• Existing customers text the word PARK with the location number and duration required
25. From November 2022 car park signs were updated again to reflect additional overnight charges.
26. There is an option to pay for parking using your mobile. The instruction is to “scan [the QR code/Appclip] to select duration and pay for your parking”.

Council’s online information

27. The Council has provided screenshots of its website from 2016 to date. These refer to the charges in place at the time.
28. The Council has also provided weblinks to further information online about using Mipermit. It says this has not changed since 2013. This includes:

Creating your stay by telephone

• On arrival at a participating car park, call 0345 505 1155 from your mobile. Calls cost the standard national rate as set by your mobile provider and should be included in your minutes package.
• If calling from a telephone that is not your registered mobile phone, you will be asked to enter your member number (mobile or landline number) and your four digit PIN.
• Enter the six digit location code using your keypad.
• Enter the duration required using your keypad.
• Stay on the phone until you get a message confirming the stay has been created.

Creating your stay by SMS

• On arrival at a participating car park, send an SMS (text message, not an MMS or email) to 61600 with the word PARK and the location number and duration in hours or minutes.

For example: PARK 702233 30mins

• If you want to park for part-hours, and the location supports part-hours, you should state the duration in minutes.

For example, for the duration of one and a half hours: PARK 702233 90mins

What happened

29. In November 2021 Ms X parked her car just after 6pm for a four hour period. She sent a text message with the location number and duration of her stay. She expected to be charged £1.50, based on a flat fee of £1.50 from 6pm to 8pm and no charge from 8pm until 8am. However, she was charged £6.40 (plus a 10p admin fee).
30. Ms X complained to the Council. In December it refunded her £5.00 but did not address her complaint.
31. She chased a response and escalated her complaint.
32. In April 2022 the Council responded to say car park users should only enter the duration of their stay to cover paid hours. Where customers arrived after 6pm they were only required to pay the two hour evening tariff and so should only enter two hours as the duration of their stay. Ms X had chosen to pay for four hours’ parking and was correctly charged the rate for four hours parking; £6.40 plus a 10p fee. Where a customer’s stay included the free overnight period the hours would carry over to the next day. This meant the customer received two hours paid parking 6pm to 8pm and two hours paid parking 8am to 10am.
33. The Council apologised for not responding in December 2021 to clarify there was no system error. It also noted it did not respond to her further contact in December. It offered five free parking vouchers as a goodwill gesture for this.
34. Ms X responded to say both the text and online instructions asked users to enter the duration of their stay. She later added she had since requested six hours’ parking just after 4pm and so expected this to carry over to the next day as the Council described. However, that did not happen.
35. In June the Council further explained the off street parking TRO set out the available tariffs and charges for the Council’s car parks. Signage at the car park said parking charges apply between 8am and 8pm. It provides the available tariffs as:
• 4 hours £6.40
• 6 hours £9.60
• 12 hours £15
• 2 hours’ evening (6pm to 8pm) £1.50
36. The Council said customers choose which tariff they want to pay for, rather than entering the duration of their stay. If someone wants to park for 3 hours from 6pm they would text “park 70223 2 hours” based on the tariff they are choosing, not based on the length of time they want to stay. There was no tariff that allowed customers to carry over their payment to the next day, though some customers have been able to benefit from this when paying by text in the evening. The payment app showed the available tariff options.
37. Ms X exchanged further correspondence with the Council and then escalated her complaint in July 2022.
38. In September the Council responded. It said it recognised the system did not work as she expected however it worked as intended. It was the user’s responsibility to determine their parking requirements in accordance with the tariffs in operation and to pay the appropriate charge. However, it was currently reviewing parking charges. She could contact the Ombudsman.
39. Ms X reviewed her account and found she had been charged incorrectly on 12 other occasions since 2016, when parking after 6pm. She has provided a spreadsheet evidencing her account activity and charges incurred from May 2016 to November 2021.
40. Ms X exchanged correspondence with the payment provider to see if they would change their instructions/text service. However, they said this was subject to the Council’s decision.
41. Ms X also made FOI requests of the Council. In response to a query regarding transactions by text from 2016 to 2022 between 6pm and 8pm, the Council provided information showing 2048 were charged the two hour evening rate as they requested a 2 hour duration and 1623 were charged a higher rate as they chose a tariff between four and 12 hours.
42. In her complaint to the Ombudsman, Ms X explained she had not noticed there was a reduced evening charge until recently and so she had been unaware she was charged too much until recently.
43. In comments on a draft decision the Council said:
• Ms X refers to a text message received in November 2021 notifying her she had been charged for four hours. She would have received this on previous occasions too and so should have been aware of and raised the issue sooner.
• From 12 May 2016 – 31 March 2022 of the 3,681 transactions made by text between 18.00 & 20.00, 2,048 of those transactions were charged the 2 hour evening rate, this being the duration requested within their text. The remaining 1,633 transactions were charged at the appropriate tariff for the number of paid for hours of parking requested. This ranges from tariffs equivalent from 4 hours up to tariffs equivalent for 6 days paid for parking. It provided a table breaking this down. (This shows 1623 were charged a higher rate as they chose a tariff between four and 12 hours. And 10 chose a higher rate because they chose a tariff between two and six days.)
• It has not received any other complaint on the same matter.
• From August 2018 onwards, the signage on both the Tariff Board and pay & display machines regarding the evening charge was accurate and clear.
• It disputes the signage is unclear. Ms X overpaid due to misinterpreting the information provided to her.
• It accepted and apologised for delay previously.
• Ms X paid £74.80 over 12 occasions (£76.00 less the 10 pence administrative fee x 12) rather than £18.00 and so overpaid by £56.00. It refunded £5.00 leaving £51.80 due.
44. I asked Ms X why she had not noticed the charging issue sooner. She said she used the text payment system frequently at the car park but then had a long period where she did not visit. On return to the car park she first used the manual payment system and noticed the cheaper evening tariff. Then, when she started using the text payment system again she noticed the difference in charges. Ms X also provided documentary evidence in support.
45. In further comments Ms X said:
• The point of payment by text is that the user does not have to check the tariff board each time but can rely on the system to calculate the correct charge.
• The reduced evening charge was only introduced in 2016, by which point she had been regularly using the system for three years; there was nothing to tell her anything had changed, which would lead her to check for a lower charge in the evenings.
• A car park user could check their charges against the published rates every time they parked, in case there had been a reduction since they last paid, but in practice she is not sure why anyone would do this.
• Others will not have complained for the same reasons; trusting the system to calculate the fee correctly and having no reason to check the tariff board.
46. In further comments the Council accepted the findings and recommendations of the draft decision. It also explained:
• Changes were made to the Mipermit system to facilitate the new charging structure introduced in November 2022. These changes have additionally ensured that all customers, regardless of their preferred channel, benefit from improvements which ensure customers pay the appropriate charge for the duration and time of day of their parking. 
• To clarify this, a four hour stay activated by text message at 18.30 will provide authorised parking until 08.00 the following day and be charged at £3.10, including the advertised 10p convenience charge. This comprises the £1.50 evening charge (available for the period of 18.00 until 20.00) and a further £1.50 for the overnight charge from 20.00 until 08.00 and represents the most cost-effective outcome for the customer from the tariffs available.

Findings

47. Ms X is complaining about charges arising since 2016; more than 12 months before contacting us. I have considered the comments from both the Council and Ms X as to whether she should have complained to us sooner. While I accept Ms X only noticed the issue recently, I am also satisfied information about the tariff and charges was available for her to check sooner if she wished. Taking this into account I consider there is no good reason to investigate beyond the 12 month period. Therefore, I have limited my investigation to start from November 2021.
48. Ms X is not challenging a PCN and so has no right to appeal. It is therefore within our jurisdiction to investigate.
49. The signage informing car park users of parking charges should be clear and accurate in line with statutory guidance, where applicable. And any information about the Council’s services should be clear and accurate in line with the Ombudsman expectations.
50. From November 2021 to November 2022 both the physical signage to support the pay by phone/text service and the online information to pay by phone/text told users to enter “the duration” of their stay. Car park users were not told to choose a tariff. This means they might enter a duration exceeding two hours in the evening and then unexpectedly incur charges for hours beyond 8pm that should be free. The signage and published information was not clear. This is fault. Ms X entered her duration correctly when staying more than two hours in the evening but was charged more than £1.50. This is injustice. I note the Council has already refunded the November 2021 overpayment.
51. The information provided suggests other car park users will have suffered the same injustice as Ms X. I say this because there would be no reason for any car park user to choose a tariff of four to 12 hours when paying by text between 6pm and 8pm. This is because no charge applied after 8pm and so they would be paying for additional hours for no reason. I am satisfied other users were confused by the lack of clear payment instructions in the same way as Ms X. However, in terms of remedying this injustice I am mindful other car park users could have raised complaints to the Council and to us if they wished. And, the Council has since confirmed it has received no other complaints. Therefore, I make no recommendation.
52. Since 1 November 2022 both the physical signage and the online information continues to ask users to provide the duration of their stay. It is not clear if the system is now able to take into account whether the evening or overnight tariff should apply irrespective of the duration entered (which it did not do previously). The Council should review its approach to charging to prevent injustice to others.
53. The Council delayed addressing Ms X’s complaint from December 2021 to April 2022 and gave contradictory information in April compared to June. This is fault. Ms X spent longer in the complaints process than necessary. This is injustice. I note the Council previously apologised for delay and offered five free parking vouchers which Ms X accepted. The Council also identified some information given in April 2022 was incorrect, though it did not previously apologise for this.
54. I have not investigated or commented upon exchanges between the Council and Ms X regarding her FOI requests. This is because the Information Commissioner’s Office is the appropriate body to consider any complaint about this.

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Agreed action

55. To remedy the injustice set out above the Council should carry out the following actions:
56. Within one month:
• Provide Ms X with a written apology for the faults identified at paragraphs 50 and 53;
• Pay Ms X £100 for time and trouble.
57. Within three months:
• Review its current approach to taking payments by SMS and telephone to ensure car park users are charged the correct amount for the duration of their stay, taking account of varied evening and overnight tariffs. The Council should either clarify how to pay in order to benefit from the reduced evening/overnight tariffs or change the payment service so that it calculates the correct charge based on the time of day.
58. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.
59. The Council has accepted these recommendations.
60. I acknowledge the Council, in response to a draft decision, has provided information showing it has reviewed its current approach to taking payments by text and it confirms the payment service calculates the correct charge based on the time of day.

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Final decision

61. I find the Council at fault because its information about car park charges was not clear and accurate, causing injustice. The Council has accepted my recommendations and I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman