Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to refund or exchange her expired parking permits. This is because there is no sign of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mrs X, complains about the Council’s decision not to refund or exchange her expired visitor parking permits.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
4. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

My assessment

7. Mrs X complained to the Council about its decision not to refund or exchange her 68 expired visitor parking permits. Mrs X explained her recent challenging personal circumstances and asked the Council to take this into account and offer her a refund or exchange. She said it was not fair that permits were only valid for a year and the Council’s decision was mean and unkind as she is a good citizen and pays her Council Tax on time.
8. The Council explained that whilst it sympathised with Mrs X’s circumstances it would not issue a refund and that its decision was made in line with its parking permit policy.
9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because there is no sign of fault by the Council here. Whilst I acknowledge Mrs X’s dissatisfaction with the Council’s decision it is one it was entitled to make and it has done so in line with its policy and the information published on its website. We are not an appeal body and it is not our role to tell the Council it should have made a decision that favoured Mrs X. We cannot question the merits of a council’s decisions where, as here, there is no sign of fault in the way it was reached.

Back to top

Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is no sign of fault by the Council.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman