Parking wardens in Dudley accused of 'rudeness and swearing' but the council hasn't taken action - here's why
The surprising outcome of 16 complaints against parking wardens in Dudley have been unveiled following accusations including accusations of rudeness and swearing.
Dudley Council did not uphold a single complaint against its private sector parking wardens despite allegations of rudeness and swearing.
Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveals between October 1, 2024, and November 31 the following year, there were 16 complaints about officer behaviour made to the authority.
A further six complaints about officers parking in contravention of regulations while carrying out enforcement action were also received.
None of the complaints were upheld because complainants did not provide sufficient evidence.
In some circumstances officers underwent extra training and Personal Improvement Plans were introduced, they were also instructed only to park in contravention of regulations in exceptional circumstances.
The most complaints came from Stourbridge where four people were upset by the behaviour of officers, Brierley Hill and Dudley contributed three complaints each.
The most frequently complained about behaviour was perceived rudeness or parking practices which are subjects debated recently in the council chamber.
In October, Dudley councillor and Labour MP for Stourbridge Cat Eccles raised the issue during a meeting of the council.
Cllr Eccles said: “They park illegally themselves, setting a poor example, they often swear and belittle people when they are speaking to them, I have even experienced this myself when they did not realise I was an elected member.
“While they may be contractors they do still represent this council and should uphold standards.”
Cllr Simon Phipps, Dudley cabinet member for economy and infrastructure, said he did not realise the volume of incidents and agreed bad behaviour was not acceptable.
Action to change bad behaviour may have worked, Cllr Eccles told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
She said: “Since the illegal parking by wardens was banned and additional training was given, I haven’t received any further complaints from the public so hopefully whatever has been done has worked.
“Prior to this some were definitely too aggressive but it would appear they’ve been brought in line now.”
Parking enforcement services have been provided in Dudley since October 2024 by Marston Group Ltd which supplies officers to more than 60 councils.
