Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a parking permit. This is because the matter complained about has not caused Mr X any significant personal injustice which is serious enough to warrant the use of public funds to carry out a further investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council provided him with a parking permit which had a design flaw which he says meant he could not use it.

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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 or continue 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 that it issued him an annual visitor parking permit scratch card with a design flaw which meant he could not use it. Mr X purchased the permit for the year 2025-2026 but says the permit did not display the year 2026 on it and so it could not be used as required. He disposed of the permit and asked the Council to provide a free replacement.
7. The Council told Mr X there was no flaw in the design of the permit. Permit users are asked only to scratch off the date they want the permit to start from. The permit states that it is valid for one year from the start date displayed. As such, it did not need to display the year 2026. It said these instructions are clearly stated on the scratch card. It told Mr X he would need to pay £6 for a replacement permit in line with its terms and conditions which state it does not replace permits and they are non-refundable.
8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the matter complained about has not caused Mr X any significant personal injustice which is so serious that it warrants the use of limited public resources to carry out a further investigation. The Council has confirmed a replacement permit can be purchased for only £6. We do not investigate every complaint we receive and we must focus our use of limited public funds 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 so serious that it warrants a further investigation by this office.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman