Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a parking fine issued by a private parking operator. This is because such action is not an administrative function of the Council and we have no power to investigate. We will not investigate the complaint so far as it concerns the Council’s payment machine. Further investigation is unlikely to achieve anything more.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the location of a Council parking machine in a surface level car park split between the Council and a private parking operator. Mr X says he parked close to the Council’s parking machine and paid for parking. He complains he later received a parking charge notice from the private parking operator instead. Mr X says the Council’s positioning of the machine next to the private operator’s parking spaces caused unnecessary confusion and led to him paying at the wrong machine.
2. Mr X says, following a Freedom of Information request to the Council, the Council has received around 20 similar complaints about the same parking machine. Mr X wants the Council to reimburse him the £60 fine that he paid the private parking operator and move the parking machine to avoid this happening again.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate complaints about actions which are not the administrative function of a council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(1) as amended).
5. 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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

8. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint that he had to pay a fine issued by a private parking operator. This is because the complaint is about a fine issued by a private company, for parking on private land. The complaint does not concern action or a decision by the Council, nor does it concern action by an organisation acting on behalf of the Council. Rather, the complaint concerns a dispute with a private company, which is not an organisation that we have the power to investigate. This means we have no basis to recommend the Council pay Mr X the £60 that he paid the private parking operator. We cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants.
9. So far as Mr X complains the position of the Council’s parking machine caused confusion and led to him paying at the wrong machine, we will not investigate this complaint. The substantive injustice to Mr X was the parking charge notice and, as explained, we cannot investigate this decision by the private parking operator. Any remaining injustice based on the Council’s actions is not significant enough to justify our involvement. Following Mr X’s complaint to us the Council offered to refund the incorrect parking fee he paid the Council and introduce further information about the private parking operator at its machine, including where to find the operator’s payment facility. Further investigation is unlikely to achieve anything more.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate this complaint about a parking fine issued by a private parking operator. This is because such action is not an administrative function of the Council and we have no power to investigate. For the complaint concerning the Council’s payment machine, we will not investigate. Further investigation is unlikely to achieve anything more.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman