Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Transport for London’s handling of Mr X’s application to its vehicle scrappage scheme. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by Transport for London or to show it is responsible for the injustice Mr X claims.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about Transport for London’s (TfL’s) handling of his vehicle scrappage scheme application. He says TfL wrongly treated him as a new applicant and failed to tell him about the scheme closure date. As a result he says he lost his van, which he uses for work.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X initially applied to TfL’s vehicle scrappage scheme in 2023 but TfL refused the application. This was because the scheme criteria stated that only vehicles which were insured and had a valid MOT were eligible for the scrappage allowance and Mr X’s vehicle was not insured and had no valid MOT. Instead, Mr X submitted a photograph of a piece of paper stating he could not insure the vehicle because it was too expensive.
7. Mr X suggests he did not receive TfL’s response to his application but he did not contact it again until 19 August 2024. This was despite TfL’s website stating it aimed to process applications within 10 working days.
8. TfL’s responded to Mr X on 2 September 2024 confirming it had rejected his application and confirming the reasons for its decision. It said Mr X may reapply if he had valid insurance and an MOT for the vehicle and that the scrappage scheme remained open for new applications at that time. It said “Please DO NOT scrap the vehicle until you have been approved for the scheme and have received a confirmation of scheme approval letter from us.”
9. The scrappage scheme closed on 8 September 2024 without Mr X making a new application.
10. Mr X contacted TfL again on 4 February 2026, almost a year and a half later, asking it to pay him the scrappage allowance. He also provided evidence to show he had scrapped his vehicle. TfL responded to Mr X on 10 February 2026 explaining the scheme was closed and confirming it could not accept any new applications.
11. We will not investigate any complaint about TfL’s decision to reject Mr X’s scrappage scheme application in 2023/24. This is because the complaint is late and there are no good reasons to exercise our discretion to investigate it now. Mr X was aware by 2 September 2024 that TfL had refused his application and if he wished to challenge the decision it would have been reasonable for him to do so at the time.
12. Mr X is unhappy TfL did not tell him about the closure of the scheme in its response dated 2 September 2024 but this is something which Mr X could and should have checked at the time. He could not reasonably assume that if he did nothing to resubmit his application the scheme would remain open forever or that he could simply reopen his application, which TfL had already refused, almost a year and a half later. TfL’s response was technically correct in that the scheme remained open at the time and the response referred Mr X to its website which clearly stated the scheme was due to close to new applications on 8 September 2024.
13. I also note that Mr X scrapped his vehicle in February 2026 before he asked TfL to reconsider his application. He would not therefore have been entitled to the scrappage allowance even if the scheme had still been open as he did not comply with the scheme criteria or the warning detailed in TfL’s letter referred to at Paragraph 8 above.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate this complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by TfL or to show the injustice Mr X claims stems from TfL’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman