Reading Borough Council (25 027 003)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Upheld
Decision date : 17 May 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the removal of her car from the road she parked on. This is because we could not add to the investigation carried out by the Council.
The complaint
- Ms X complains about how the Council dealt with the removal of her vehicle from the road she parked on. Ms X also complains about how the Council dealt with her complaint about this matter.
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 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 we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X parked on a road. The Council subsequently placed notices advising the public about parking restrictions in the road in order for resurfacing work to be carried out. The Council subsequently removed Ms X’s vehicle to another road and issued her with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).
- In responding to Ms X’s complaint, the Council accepted that the correct process had not been followed as the removal had not been recorded properly and Ms X had not been notified.
- I will not investigate Ms X’s complaint. This is because the Council has apologised to Ms X for the error and outlined the steps it had taken to avoid the issue occurring again. These are appropriate actions in the circumstances, so an investigation by the Ombudsman would not add to the investigation carried out by the Council.
- It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue. For this reason, I will not investigate how the Council dealt with Ms X’s complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we could not add to the investigation carried out by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman