Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice for a parking contravention. It is unlikely he would find evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Ms B, says the Council was at fault for seeking to recover an unpaid penalty charge from her. She says she did not receive the Council’s rejection of her challenge to the penalty charge notice and would have paid £25 if she had.

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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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached that is likely to have affected the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered what Ms B said in her complaint. The Council provided background information including copies of its correspondence with Ms B and documents sent to her.

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What I found

Background

5. The Council enforces parking restrictions and takes recovery action using procedures set out in the Traffic Management Act 2004 and associated Regulations. Councils and motorists must follow these procedures although councils have discretion to stop enforcement or recovery action if they believe there are good reasons to do so.
6. In law, the owner of vehicle is responsible for any penalty charges regardless of who was driving at the time of the contravention. This is most often the person registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) as the keeper of the vehicle. Enforcement authorities will first send any formal documents using details provided by the DVLA.

Summary of events

7. The Council issued a penalty charge notice to Ms B on 30 May 2019 because it believed she parked where this was not allowed. This required her to pay £50, although the Council could accept £25 if she paid within 14 days.
8. Ms B made an informal challenge to the penalty charge notice online on 3 June. She gave an email address and postal address but did express any preference.
9. The Council sent a letter by post to Ms B on 21 June rejecting her informal challenge. It would accept £25 within a further 14 days or she could wait for it to send a ‘notice to owner’. This would allow her to make formal representations against the penalty charge notice.
10. The Council received no payment so it sent the notice to owner to Ms B, followed by a charge certificate. By this stage, the penalty charge had increased to £75 in line with the Regulations. These documents were sent by post which is a requirement of the Regulations.
11. In late August Ms B contacted the Council to say she been abroad during July and had only just returned. She was unaware of the letter rejecting her informal challenge because the Council had sent this by post, not email.
12. The Council said it was too late to make formal representations against the penalty charge notice. If she wanted to pursue the matter, she could wait for an order for recovery and make a witness statement to Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court.
13. Ms B continued to complain about not receiving the Council’s rejection of her informal challenge. In November, the Council offered to let her pay £75 within 10 days or it would continue with recovery action. Ms B then complained to us.

Analysis

14. It is unfortunate Ms B did not receive the Council’s letter rejecting her informal representations and remained unaware of it while she was out of the country. However, I do not consider this was a result of fault by the Council. There was no requirement for it send the response by email. Ms B had not asked it to do this or advised the Council she would be away for an extended period.
15. I am satisfied the Council has followed the correct procedure required by the Regulations. It was for the Council to decide whether to exercise discretion not to pursue the penalty charge at any stage and I have seen no evidence of fault by the Council in this.

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Final decision

16. I have decided we will not investigate this complaint for the reasons set out in paragraphs 14 and 15.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman