Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice for an alleged parking contravention. Mr X’s claimed injustice is not significant enough to warrant our involvement and there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our involvement.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council wrongly issued a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for an alleged parking contravention. Mr X said the signage it relied on was not applicable where he parked.
2. Mr X said he spent a significant time pursuing this matter.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(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.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X complained the Council wrongly issued him with a PCN.
7. In response to his complaint, the Council said it had already cancelled the PCN following Mr X’s challenge.
8. We will not normally investigate a complaint unless there is good reason to believe the complainant has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the Council. To satisfy this threshold we would need to be satisfied a person has suffered serious loss, or harm, or distress directly because of the Council’s actions.
9. I have not seen any evidence to suggest Mr X has suffered an injustice which would meet the threshold for our involvement.
10. In any case, the Council has already cancelled the PCN and so there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by us investigating.
11. Mr X also sought for the staff member responsible for the PCN to be dismissed. The Ombudsman does not have powers to tell the Council it should discipline its staff and so we cannot achieve the outcome sought by Mr X.
12. For these reasons, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because his claimed injustice is not significant enough to warrant our involvement and there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by us investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman