Durham County Council (25 020 978)
Category : Environment and regulation > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 12 May 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to remove Mr X’s car from the road and issue a Fixed Penalty Notice. We consider that further investigation will not lead to a worthwhile outcome.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council issued a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for leaving his damaged car which had an expired MOT certificate on the public road. It also removed the car.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says a Council Officer agreed that he could leave his car on the road until 28 October. However, it removed the car on 27 October and issued an FPN. The Council disagrees with this and Mr X has no evidence to support his allegation. Mr X appealed to the Council. However, the Council dismissed his appeal.
- Mr X decided to pay the FPN to avoid the matter escalating to court.
- If a council thinks a person has committed an offence, it can issue the person with an FPN. If a person pays the fine, they accept liability for the offence and the matter is closed.
- If the person does not pay the fine, a council can take the person to court. The person can then raise a defence in court, and the court will then decide if the person has committed the offence.
- We will not investigate this complaint. Mr X has accepted liability and paid the FPN issued to him. If Mr X wished to challenge the notice, he could have withheld payment and presented his arguments in his defence in court. The Ombudsman is not an alternative to the court process.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely further investigation would achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman