Ombudsman criticises council and contractor after people "may have been denied right to challenge parking tickets in court"

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found Cherwell District Council’s car parking contractor at fault, saying its actions meant people may have been denied their rights to challenge parking tickets through the courts.

Michael King, the Ombudsman, said the local authority could not contract out responsibility for its services.

The investigation was carried out after a woman complained to the LGO about the way APCOA handled her complaint. 

She had parked one of Cherwell’s car parks, which was being run by APCOA. The ticket machine was broken, and the woman tried to pay by phone. “Unfortunately, the number she tried would not take calls from withheld numbers so she could not pay,” the LGO said.

She received a parking fine, and challenged it, unsuccessfully. She tried to pay £40 online but APCOA collected £80 instead.

When she complained to Cherwell, she was wrongly told the council had no jurisdiction over the car park as it was being managed by APCOA, the Ombudsman found.

She then went back to APCOA, but her complaint was instead treated as an appeal and was rejected.

The Ombudsman’s investigation found APCOA at fault for:

• trying to enforce parking charges without giving customers reasonable means to pay;
• the way it charged too much for the ticket;
• the way it dealt with her subsequent complaint;
• using the wrong process for enforcing the penalty, which denied motorists the right to challenge them in court. “Although the woman was not personally affected by this it potentially affects others using car parks in this area.”

The council has agreed to:

• apologise to the woman;
• pay her £100 for the avoidable frustration and distress;
• issue guidance to staff dealing with customer enquiries and concerns on how to respond appropriately to questions involving all operators acting on its behalf;
• review with APCOA the processes for accepting payment when a ticket machine is not working; and
• review its processes for enforcing Excess Charge Notices to ensure it is using the correct process.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said: “Councils can contract out services, but they cannot contract out responsibility for those services. If we find fault with a council’s contractor it is the council’s responsibility to ensure things are put right.

“On balance, it appears APCOA was not complying with the law when it enforced the charge notice. This may have wide-reaching consequences for others using car parks in its area.

“I welcome the steps the council is now taking to improve its services and the way it works with APCOA, to address the issues we’ve raised.”

A spokesperson for Cherwell said: "We have apologised unreservedly to the lady referenced in the Ombudsman report. She received a poor service from ourselves and APCOA and we fully acknowledge that.

"We have already acted on the points raised by the Ombudsman in her recommendations to ensure that others receive the standards of customer service that we strive to provide.

"It should be stressed that Cherwell District Council has been operating within the appropriate legislation and all car parking tickets are enforceable.”