Transport for London (26 013 631)
Category : Environment and regulation > Licensing
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 18 Aug 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate X’s complaint that the Authority refused their licence application or that it failed to reimburse X for a duplicate fee payment. This is because it would have been reasonable to expect X to have used their right of appeal to a magistrates’ court and because the complaint is made late.
The complaint
- X complains that the Authority refused their application for a taxi licence and that it failed to reimburse X for a duplicate fee payment.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Authority.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- I will not investigate X’s complaint because it concerns matters that happened in 2023. I see no good reason why X could not have complained to us sooner.
- Furthermore, after the application was refused, X had a right of appeal to a magistrates’ court. The court can consider the application again and decide whether the Authority should issue a licence. It would have been reasonable for X to have used this appeal right.
Final decision
- We will not investigate X’s complaint because it would have been reasonable to expect X to have used their right of appeal to a magistrates’ court and because the complaint is made late.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman