Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council failed to respond to the complainant so she could pay for her leased parking space. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, says she could not pay for her parking permit because the Council failed to respond. The Council has revoked the permit and Ms X needs the parking space.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council. This includes the permit agreement signed by Ms X and the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code and invited Ms X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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My assessment

4. For many years Ms X has leased a parking space in a car park. Last year Ms X paid by direct debit. Ms X renewed the lease for the space in March 2022. She stated on the form she would continue to pay by direct debit from the same bank account. The form states that payments will be taken over eight to ten months and any missed payments will immediately make the permit invalid. The form also states that any missed payments will lead to the Council cancelling the permit.
5. The Council renewed the permit but did not receive any payments from Ms X. There were email exchanges between March and May regarding Ms X providing proof of residency. In October the Council sent two email reminders and left a phone message about non-payment. The Council sent the emails to the wrong address. The Council says Ms X did not respond to the phone message.
6. In November the Council revoked the permit because the lease began in April but Ms X had not made any payments. The Council issued an invoice for the outstanding £385 due from April. The invoice shows people can pay on-line, by phone, by bank transfer, and at the post office; this is in addition to paying by direct debit.
7. In response to the complaint the Council said Ms X had had six months to set up the direct debit and it had allowed much longer to pay than stated in the rules. It accepted it used the wrong email address but said she had not responded to the message. The Council also said it is not under any duty to issue reminders as it is the responsibility of the permit holder to ensure payment. The Council confirmed the withdrawal of the permit but said she could apply for a new one.
8. Ms X says she tried to pay but the Council did not respond to any calls or emails. Ms X says she has been unwell and needs the parking space.
9. I will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. Ms X renewed the lease and signed to say she would continue to pay by direct debit. The Council did not receive any payments and had not cancelled the direct debit. If Ms X did not want to continue to pay by direct debit there were other ways she could have paid which did not rely on any response from the Council. It is unfortunate the Council sent emails to the wrong address but, by then, the payments were six months late and, in accordance with the lease, the Council could have withdrawn the permit in April. In addition, Ms X had email correspondence with the Council about residency and could have raised any payment concerns at that time.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman