Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a £10 administration fee the Council applied when he requested a refund for his Resident Parking Zone permit. This is because the matter complained about has not caused Mr X any significant personal injustice which is so serious that it warrants an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about a £10 administration fee the Council applied when he cancelled his Resident Parking Zone permit. Mr X was not previously aware of the fee. He says the Council was not transparent about it and did not act in line with the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

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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 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 provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mr X complained to the Council about the matter set out in paragraph one, above.
7. The Council told Mr X the parking permit is not a purchased product, but a service, and there are no contractual terms and conditions presented to residents who pay for a permit. However, it publishes guidance on its website which sets out and explains the administration fee that applies should a refund be requested. It said it advises and expects residents to consider this information when applying for or renewing a permit. It offers a pro-rata refund based on usage and the £10 administrative fee is deducted from the refund amount. The decision to apply the £10 administration fee was made at Cabinet in 2017.
8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the matter complained about has not caused him any significant personal injustice which is serious enough that it warrants the use of limited public funds to carry out a further investigation. We do not investigate every complaint we receive and we must focus our limited public resources on investigating those complaints where a person has suffered a significant personal injustice as a result of alleged fault by a body in our jurisdiction. This is not the case here.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the matter complained about has not caused him any significant personal injustice which is serious enough to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman