Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of a Penalty Charge Notice. Mr X says he lost the chance to pay at the discounted rate. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council which caused Mr X injustice. The Council has agreed to refund Mr X the extra charges added.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains about the Council’s handling of a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). Mr X says he missed the chance to pay a PCN at the discounted rate as he did not receive notice of the charge until the Council posted him the charge certificate.

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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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered the complaint correspondence between Mr X and the Council and I have discussed the complaint with Mr X over the telephone. I sent a draft to Mr X and the Council and considered their responses.

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What I found

5. On 12 October 2018 a camera captured Mr X’s vehicle entering and stopping in a box junction when prohibited.
6. The Council contacted the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to get Mr X’s address so it could send him the PCN. The PCN amounted to £65.
7. On 18 October 2018 the Council posted the PCN to Mr X’s address. The mail provider returned the PCN as undelivered.
8. In January 2019 the Council posted Mr X a charge certificate explaining the debt had increased from £65 to £195.
9. Mr X contacted the Council and paid the debt of £195. He said he paid the full amount as the charge certificate he received told him the Council would start court action if he did not pay.
10. After paying the debt Mr X complained to the Council. He said he had not received the PCN and was not aware of it. He asked the Council to refund him the further charges added to the earlier debt of £65.
11. The Council responded to say it posted the PCN to his address. As it did not receive payment from Mr X the case progressed and it sent a charge certificate to him in January 2019.
12. Mr X responded to the Council to say he did not think the Council posted the PCN to his correct address. He also said he felt intimidated by the threat of court action in the charge certificate so paid off the debt.
13. The Council responded and admitted the mail provider returned the PCN as undelivered even though it posted the PCN to Mr X’s correct address. However, the Council said as Mr X paid the debt it has closed the case. The Council also said Mr X could have waited for the debt to be registered with the Court and filed a witness statement against the fact he did not receive the PCN.
14. Mr X remained dissatisfied and complained to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

15. Mr X complains he lost the chance to pay the PCN before the Council added further fees to the debt. Mr X says he is not disputing the PCN and does not wish to challenge it.
16. The Local Government Act 1972, Section 233, says a document is served on a person by delivering it to them in person, leaving it at their proper address or sending it by post to their proper address. Unless the contrary is proved, a document is served by post when it would be delivered in the ordinary course of post.
17. The Council posted the PCN to the correct address. However, the PCN was returned to the Council as undelivered. Therefore, the PCN cannot be deemed as having been served on Mr X. Once the Council became aware the mail provider returned the PCN as undelivered, it should have re-issued it to Mr X. This is fault.
18. The obvious injustice caused to Mr X is that he was not aware of the PCN until he received the charge certificate. By this time Mr X had missed the chance to pay off the PCN before the Council added further fees.
19. On balance I am satisfied Mr X would have paid the PCN at the discounted rate had he been aware of it.

Agreed action

20. Within four weeks of my final decision the Council should:
• Refund Mr X the extra fees added onto the debt. I believe this amounts to £130.
21. The Council should provide evidence to the Ombudsman it has carried out the recommended action.

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Final decision

22. I have completed my investigation and found fault by the Council which caused Mr X injustice. The Council has agreed to the above action to remedy the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman