Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s processing of parking permits. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, says the Council wrongly allowed her to buy a temporary parking permit; it then withdrew the permit and Ms X received a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). Ms X wants the Council to refund £105 and make changes to the website.

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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 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), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Ms X. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also read the parking permit webpages and considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Ms X changed her car; she sold her old car in the morning and acquired the new car later that day. Ms X went on-line to update her parking permit. She cancelled the permit for the old car; the website says changes can take up to ten days to process and the vehicle is not covered while the change is processed.
5. On the same day Ms X applied for a temporary permit; she did this because she wanted to have a permit for the new car before she got the V5 and could get a permanent permit. The website says temporary permits are for courtesy or hire cars. It also says the applicant must have a residents permit to have a temporary permit. The system allowed Ms X to buy a temporary permit because the request to cancel the permanent permit had not been processed. Ms X paid £40 for the temporary permit. The website says the Council does not issue refunds for temporary permits.
6. A few days later the Council cancelled the permit. It also cancelled the temporary permit because there was no longer an active residents permit. Ms X says the Council did not tell her it had cancelled the temporary permit.
7. Ms X then received a PCN because she parked without having an active permit. Ms X says the Council should not have allowed her to buy a temporary permit when she had cancelled the old one. Ms X wants the Council to refund the cost of the temporary permit and the PCN.
8. In response to her complaint the Council said that temporary permits are only for courtesy and hire cars and this is explained on the website. It said a temporary permit is only valid in conjunction with an active residents permit, and the system allowed her to purchase the temporary permit because the cancellation request had not been processed. The Council said it does not provide refunds for temporary permits and Ms X should use the statutory process to challenge the PCN. The Council said it would add a sentence to the website to make it clearer that any temporary cover will end when a request to cancel the main permit has been processed.
9. I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The website explains the process someone must follow when they change their car. It also explains that temporary permits are only for courtesy or hire cars; it does not say temporary permits can be used for any gap in cover when someone changes cars. The system allowed Ms X to buy the permit because her cancellation request had not yet been processed. I appreciate the Council has strengthened some wording on the website but the previous wording does not amount to fault; there was enough information to allow Ms X to follow the correct process and to alert her that a temporary permit was not appropriate to her circumstances.
10. The Council was correct to tell Ms X she would need to challenge the PCN through the statutory process, which ultimately leads to the tribunal. We cannot tell the Council to cancel or refund the PCN because it is matter that needs to be dealt with through the statutory process, as explained in the PCN correspondence.

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Final decision

11. 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