Summary: Mr x complains the Council failed to follow the correct process when it issued him a fixed penalty notice for littering. The Council has refunded the money he paid and offered a sum in compensation for poor customer service. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint as investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome. Nor can we recommend compensation for personal injury.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council failed to follow the correct process when it issued a fixed penalty notice (FPN) for dropping a cigarette butt. He wants interest on the amount he paid for the fine and compensation for the distress caused.

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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’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I consider the information in Mr X’s complaint form and the Council’s final response to his complaint.
4. Mr X commented on the draft version of this decision.

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What I found

5. Mr X received an FPN for dropping a cigarette butt. He says he wanted to challenge the FPN in court as he did not believe the Council was justified in issuing it. he says despite contacting the Council many times to ask for the procedure it did not respond to him.
6. Mr X says he paid the fine of £150 as he was concerned if he did not the Council would prosecute him. He then complained to the Council.
7. In September the Council refunded the £150 because part of the FPN notice which explained what to do if you did not agree to pay the fine had failed to print out on the notice. However, the Council told Mr X it was satisfied he had committed the littering offence.
8. The Council also agreed to pay Mr X 50p which represented the interest on £150 for 4 months between the date the FPN was issued and the date it was refunded. This exceeds the bank of interest rate but was rounded up by 12p for convenience.
9. The Council also offered £50 in recognition of the time and trouble he had in pursuing his complaint. Mr X refused the council’s offer.
10. Mr X wants the amount of interest on £150 for 4 months to be recalculated using a different formula but he has not specified what the formula should be. The Council has used the Bank of England rate as a basis for its calculations and I consider this to be reasonable.
11. He has also refused the Council’s offer of £50 in compensation because he believes the Council’s actions have caused stress and serious illness which warrants a larger payment. The Ombudsman cannot investigate personal injury claims and cannot recommend compensation. If Mr X believes the Council’s actions have caused him ill health or injury, he can ask the court to decide whether compensation is due.

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Final decision

12. I will not investigate this complaint. It is unlikely that further investigation would lead to a different outcome. Also, we cannot recommend compensation for personal injury as this is a matter for the courts.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman