Summary: Mr X complains about the clarity of information on the Council’s application form for a private vehicle licence. This led to the Council granting Mr X a licence for only two months. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council and has made recommendations to remedy the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains about the clarity of information on the Council’s application form for a private vehicle licence. This led to Mr X only receiving a licence for two months.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. As part of this investigation:
• I considered the complaint made by Mr X and the responses from the Council.
• I considered the information on the Council’s application form for private hire vehicle licences.
• I discussed the complaint with Mr X over the telephone.
• I sent a draft of this decision to Mr X and the Council and considered comments I received.

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What I found

5. In early July 2019 Mr X applied to renew his private hire vehicle licence. Mr X says he sent all the requested documents and paid the fee of £299 for a 12 month licence.
6. On 17 July 2019 Mr X attended an appointment with the Council to collect his licence. The Council told him he could only receive a two month private hire licence due to the age of his vehicle.
7. Mr X contacted to the Council on 21 July 2019. He said the Council did not tell him he could only receive a two month licence before paying the licence fee.
8. The Council responded to Mr X and told him it issued a two month licence as his vehicle turned 12 years old in September 2019 and it did not licence vehicles over 12 years old. The Council offered Mr X a refund of £130 as a gesture of goodwill. This was the difference in price between a 12 month and 6 month licence fee.
9. On 25 July 2019 Mr X asked the Council to raise a complaint. The Council provided a stage one response in early August 2019. The Council said:
• Mr X ticked the boxes on the application form to say his vehicle was less than 12 years old and the Council would not refund application fees.
• Mr X signed a statutory declaration saying all the information on his application was true.
• The Council does not licence vehicles over 12 years old so if Mr X wants an extension to the licence he needs to buy a new vehicle.
10. Mr X asked for the Council to escalate his complaint to stage two. He said when he applied for a licence, his vehicle was under 12 years old. Mr X said the application form was misleading and he would not have applied for a licence if he knew he could only have one for two months.
11. The Council provided its response at stage two on 20 August 2019. The Council:
• Upheld the complaint and apologised for the information not being clear on its website.
• Told Mr X it has requested the criteria on the application form is revised to prevent issues like this happening again.
• Offered Mr X a goodwill gesture of £130.

Analysis

12. Mr X says the information in the application form was unclear and he did not realise he could not have a licence for 12 months. The Council’s position is that it does not licence vehicles older that 12 years.
13. The Council’s application form says to apply for a licence a vehicle must meet the following criteria:
• The vehicle must be no older than 12 years.
• The vehicle must have no more than 8 seats.
• The vehicle must not be of a type that is currently licenced as a hackney carriage.
14. From the evidence I have seen, the information on the application form did not specify if a vehicle reached 12 years old during the licence period, the licence will end. This is fault. When Mr X applied for a licence his vehicle did meet the above criteria and it was reasonable for Mr X to expect to receive a licence for 12 months.
15. If the information was clearer on the application form, Mr X may not have applied for a licence as he would be paying for a 12 month licence but only receiving a two month licence.
16. I accept the Council has identified the information on its website was not clear and transparent and has apologised to Mr X. The Council has told Mr X it intends to update the information on its application form so licensing requirements are clear for all customers. This is appropriate as it may prevent this type of complaint occurring in the future.
17. The Council also offered Mr X £130 as a goodwill gesture. This is the difference in cost between a 12 month licence and a 6 month licence. While this goes some way to remedying the injustice to Mr X, it still means Mr X received a licence for two months but will have paid for a 6 month licence.

Agreed action

18. The Council has agreed within four weeks of my final decision to carry out the following and provide evidence to the Ombudsman it has done so:
• Pay Mr X £249.17. I have calculated this using the £299 licence fee Mr X paid. This amounts to £24.92 per month and £24.92 for 10 months amounts to £249.17. If the Council has already paid Mr X £130 it can deduct this from the £249.17.
19. The Council has agreed to and provided evidence it has:
• Updated the information in its licence application form. In particular, to make it clear the Council does not licence vehicles over 12 years old and should a vehicle turn 12 years old during a licence period it will not continue to licence it.

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Final decision

20. I have found fault by the Council which caused injustice to Mr X. The Council has agreed to the above actions to remedy the injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman