Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the service the Council has commissioned to manage payment of its car parking facilities. There is no evidence of fault and we could not achieve the outcome she is seeking.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the organisation the Council has commissioned to manage its car parking charges is not easily accessible and it is not accountable for failings. Ms X said this has the potential to impact on people who have disabilities and wants the Council to ensure it is more accountable.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Ms X complained to the Council about several matters relating to her concerns after she received a penalty charge notice (PCN). She was unhappy about the on-line cashless payment scheme run by an organisation, which the Council had commissioned to manage payment for car parking charges. She said in particular:
• Some payment methods did not provide a receipt;
• it was not easy to challenge a PCN with the organisation, and;
• the Council did not take responsibility for what she said was a poor service.
6. Ms X asked the Council to ensure the organisation made other avenues available to ensure it was more accountable.
7. The Council replied to Ms X, explaining how people could challenge PCNs and it offered to contact the organisation to make sure its contact numbers were up to date. It also explained it had carried out an equality impact assessment before it had introduced the new parking charge scheme.
8. We will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault in the Council’s actions, and in any case we could not achieve the outcome she is seeking.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman