Summary: There was no fault by the Council in a complaint which alleged it failed to check the complainant’s correct address before it instructed enforcement agents to pursue a debt.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council failed to check on his correct address before it instructed enforcement agents to pursue a debt accrued from an unpaid penalty charge notice.
2. Mr X also says a council officer attended his old address accompanied by a policeman on more than one occasion.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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

5. I reviewed the complaint and background information provided by Mr X and the Council. I consulted statutory guidance to local authorities on the civil enforcement of parking contraventions. I discussed matters with Mr X by telephone. I sent a draft decision statement to Mr X and the Council and considered the comments of both parties on it.

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What I found

6. Mr X received a penalty charge notice for driving a motorcycle in a bus lane. He appealed against the notice to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. Before the tribunal hearing, Mr X had moved home. He registered his motorcycle with the DVLA early in March 2019. Mr X sent a message to the Tribunal on its online portal to inform it of the change in his address. Mr X says the message was sent to the Council through the Tribunal's messaging service.
7. The tribunal hearing was in mid to late March 2019.
8. Mr X’s appeal was unsuccessful. He was therefore required to pay the penalty charge in full. Mr X paid the discounted rate which is half the full charge.
9. In July 2019, the Council instructed enforcement agents to recover the debt. The agents wrote to Mr X at his former address which was the address retained by the Council on its record. The agents also visited Mr X’s old address before searching for his new and present address.
10. Mr X had to meet the costs of the enforcement agents including the costs of the agents writing to and visiting his old address. Mr X eventually paid £154 rather than just the outstanding penalty charge. Mr X says the Council should have followed ‘good practice’ by checking his address with the DVLA before instructing the agents.
11. Mr X says a neighbour informed him council and police officers visited his old home on several occasions.

Finding

12. I do not find fault by the Council in this case. Statutory guidance to local authorities sets out the procedure they should follow in taking enforcement action. Although councils should contact the DVLA to obtain the details of the registered keeper at the outset of the enforcement process, it does not suggest councils again contact the DVLA in the event that a motorist loses an appeal and then does not pay the penalty charge. This may be a lacuna in the guidance. However, I cannot find fault by the Council if there is no procedural requirement for it to do as Mr X suggests.
13. I note Mr X’s reference to ‘good practice’. Given the guidance is silent on what councils should do in the particular circumstances of this case, the Ombudsman would consider there was fault by the Council had Mr X informed the Council of the change in his address at any stage before the tribunal hearing or afterwards.
14. I have considered Mr X’s message to the Tribunal and whether this amounts to informing the Council of the change in his address. I do not find this action was enough to conclude the Council was informed of the changed address. The portal is the online appeals mechanism of the Tribunal. The Council can access the portal in the same way as an appellant would but the Tribunal does not directly inform councils of information uploaded to the portal. So, a council may pursue information on the portal or it may not. I do not consider it a reasonable burden to place upon councils to expect them to gather information on an appellant’s change in circumstances through the portal.
15. As to Mr X’s complaint that a council officer attended his former home accompanied by a police officer, I cannot gainsay the recollection of Mr X’s neighbour but I do not consider this service can establish the true facts of the matter. I find it unlikely that this happened because the Council had instructed enforcement agents to recover the debt. Given this fact it is unlikely a council officer would then be involved in a visit to Mr X’s former home. Police officers are also not involved in the civil enforcement process.

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Final decision

16. I closed this complaint because there was no fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman