Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that Transport for London has sought to recover payment of over £500 from him for a penalty charge notice he has already paid. This is because Transport for London has agreed to accept payment at the discounted rate of £65.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains Transport for London (TfL) is pursuing him for a penalty charge notice (PCN) he has already paid. He says this will cause him financial loss.

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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. 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

3. I reviewed Mr X’s complaint and the Council’s response. I shared my draft decision with Mr X and invited his comments.

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What I found

4. TfL issued a PCN for a moving traffic contravention in 2019. Mr X is not the owner/registered keeper of the vehicle, a rental van, but the owner applied to transfer liability to him under the rental contract. Mr X paid the PCN before TfL transferred liability and TfL says because he was not liable at the time, it refunded his payment. It then reissued the PCN in Mr X’s name and escalated the case as he did not pay.
5. Mr X contacted TfL to dispute the reissued PCN as he had already paid. He says TfL agreed to put the PCN back to the discounted rate of £65 but the online payment system would not let him pay. TfL therefore continued to pursue Mr X, via its enforcement agents (bailiffs) for the outstanding amount of over £500.

Agreed remedy

6. Mr X raised a formal complaint with TfL in October 2020. In response, TfL has agreed again to accept payment of the PCN at the discounted rate of £65, as long as payment is made by 10 November 2020. It has provided him with the telephone number for its contact centre and made clear that Mr X should call to make his payment over the phone. This provides Mr X a further opportunity to pay only the amount of the original PCN as he wanted.

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Final decision

7. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because TfL has offered Mr X an opportunity to pay the PCN at the discounted rate of £65. This is what Mr X wanted when he referred his complaint to the Ombudsman and it provides a suitable remedy for his complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman