Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about unpaid work carried out for the Council or about a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) issued to him. The courts are better placed to resolve any issues relating to contractual matters and the issuing of the PCN has not caused him a significant personal injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that he has not been paid by the Council for work he completed on its behalf.
2. He says that while he was carrying out the work, he received a PCN. Because Mr X had hired a van to carry out the work, it was issued to the van hire company. The Council later agreed to cancel the PCN but Mr X says this did not happen and as a result, the van hire company is pursuing him for costs.
3. Mr X also says he has waited more than four months for the Council to respond to his complaint.
4. Mr X says the matter has caused him financial loss and would like the Council to pay for the work completed. Mr X would also like a formal finding of maladministration in relation to the delays in the complaint process.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

5. 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)
6. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact 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 or continue an investigation if we decide any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by the complainant.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My Assessment

9. Mr X was subcontracted to carry out work on behalf of the Council. He submitted an invoice but says he has not been paid. We take the view the courts are generally in the best position to decide commercial and contractual disputes. This includes a complaint that the Council has failed to pay money owed to a person or business. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
10. Mr X received a PCN while using a hired vehicle to carry out the work. The van hire company challenged this, and the Council agreed in writing to cancel the PCN but did not do so. As a result, the Council continued to enforce the PCN and eventually passed the debt to bailiffs who paid the van hire company a visit.
11. Although Mr X did not have to pay the fine, he subsequently received a £280 invoice from the van hire firm. Mr X says he received this because the Council had failed to cancel the PCN as agreed.
12. We can only consider the Council’s actions. The Council did not enforce the PCN directly against Mr X and he has not paid it. Therefore, he has not experienced a significant injustice because of the Council’s actions and we will not investigate. If Mr X is unhappy with the van hire firm’s actions, he can pursue this through the courts.
13. Mr X complained about the matter in November 2024 however has yet to receive a complaint response. Although this is over the 12 weeks we would usually recommend for a Council to respond, we would not investigate delays in a complaint response if we are not investigating the substantive matter. Therefore, we will not investigate this matter.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The unpaid invoice is a contractual matter he can pursue in court, and the remaining issues have not caused a significant personal injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman