Manchester City Council (25 004 949)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 23 Jul 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a council-run car park. This is because the injustice Mrs X claims is not the result of any fault by the Council. If Mrs X believes the Council is responsible for the losses she suffered then it would be reasonable for her to make a claim against it a court.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains a council car park advertised as secure with CCTV and security does not have CCTV cameras throughout the car park to safeguard against break-ins and theft. Her car was broken into while parked at the car park and Mrs X is unhappy the Council has refused to accept liability.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We cannot hold the Council responsible for the criminal actions of third parties. We could not therefore say the Council is responsible for the break-in of Mrs X’s car or the theft of her personal belongings, and we cannot say it must provide Mrs X with compensation for her losses. If Mrs X believes the Council is responsible it would be reasonable for her to make a claim against it at court.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the injustice Mrs X claims is not the result of any fault by the Council. If Mrs X believes the Council is liable for her losses it would be reasonable for her to go to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman