Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s online visitor parking permit booking system. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council or to show its actions caused Miss X significant injustice. It is also unlikely further investigation would achieve anything more for Miss X.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the Council’s online visitor’s parking permit booking system. She says she tried to pay for visitor parking on Saturday afternoon but the system changed the booking to the following Monday and the Council has refused to refund her payment.

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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 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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• 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.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. We do not investigate all the complaints we receive. In deciding whether to investigate we need to consider various tests. These include the alleged injustice to the person complaining. We only investigate the most serious complaints.
6. I appreciate Miss X is unhappy about the way the Council’s system works but the injustice she claims is not significant enough to warrant investigation. Miss X paid £5.06 for the visitor parking permit and while the Council has cited its terms and conditions in declining to amend her permit booking or refund Miss X’s payment it has agreed, as a gesture of goodwill, to credit her account with five hours of visitor permits. This provides a suitable outcome for Miss X and it is unlikely investigation would achieve anything more for her. What Miss X is looking for is very specific changes to the way the system operates and the Council is under no obligation to make these changes.
7. Miss X lives in a controlled parking zone where restrictions operate between 9:30am and 1:30pm on Saturdays and she paid for the permit after 3pm, outside of these hours. The system therefore allowed her to pay for parking for the period she wanted but applied this payment to the next charging period, as is standard for many online systems and ‘pay and displays’ around the country. While Miss X believes the issue lies with the system, it is for her or for any other motorist using it to ensure they are aware of the relevant charging hours and pay for parking accordingly.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the injustice Miss X claims is not significant enough to warrant investigation and there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman