Halton Borough Council (19 014 307)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Upheld
Decision date : 27 Jan 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about two penalty charge notices issued by the Council. The Council has cancelled the notices and it is unlikely we would recommend anything more for Mr X.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, complains about two penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued by the Council. He says he was not in possession of the vehicle when the alleged contraventions occurred but the Council has refused his representations and declined to consider the matter further.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I reviewed Mr X’s complaint, made enquiries of the Council and considered its response. I shared my draft decision with Mr X and invited his comments.
What I found
- The Council issued Mr X two PCNs for crossing the Mersey Gateway Bridge without paying the toll. Mr X wrote to the Council explaining he was not the registered keeper at the time of the contravention and asked the DVLA for a letter to confirm this. He sent the letter on to the Council but it was outside the time limit for representations so it told him it would not consider it.
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. The Council confirms it cancelled both PCNs in November 2019 in response to Mr X’s correspondence, although it accepts it did not make this clear in its responses. This provides a suitable remedy for the complaint and it is unlikely we would recommend anything more.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council has cancelled the PCNs and it is unlikely further investigation would achieve anything more for Mr X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman