London Borough of Croydon (20 008 777)

Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 20 Jan 2021

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Mr X complains about the way the Council dealt with a parking penalty it issued in respect of a hire car Mr X was driving. This led to Mr X having to pay increased charges. We will not investigate as the complaint appears to have been resolved as the Council has refunded Mr X part of his payment.

The complaint

  1. Mr X complains the Council would not allow him to respond to a parking penalty it issued in respect of a hire car Mr X was driving.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I have considered what Mr X said in his complaint and background information the Council has supplied to me. I have sent Mr X my draft decision on his complaint for his comments.

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What I found

  1. Mr X complains the Council would not let him respond to a parking penalty it issued in respect of a hire car Mr X was driving, as Mr X was not the registered keeper. Mr X complains that because of this, the fine escalated to £195. Mr X says paying the fine has caused him financial difficulties.
  2. The Council has told me the enforcement of the penalty escalated as the hire car company did not sent it a copy of the hire agreement. It explains the original penalty would have been reissued to Mr X had it done this, which would have allowed Mr X to pay the original penalty amount of £65. The Council confirms though, that due to Mr X’s financial circumstances, it has refunded £130 to him.

Analysis

  1. The Council’s actions have put Mr X in the position he would have been in had the penalty been reissued to him to allow him to deal with it. The complaint therefore appears resolved and I do not consider we can add to this. We will not therefore investigate.

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Final decision

  1. My decision is that we will not investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint appears to have been resolved.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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