Torbay Council (20 011 825)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 25 Mar 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) being issued wrongly. The Council has cancelled the PCNs which is a suitable remedy.
The complaint
- The Complainant, who I shall refer to as Mr C, complains the Council has issued him two PCNs for parking offences which are not legally enforceable. Mr C also feels he is being targeted by the Council because of his sexuality.
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 must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:
- it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
- it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I read the complaint and the Council’s responses. I invited Mr C to comment on the draft decision.
What I found
- Mr C says he was issued two PCNs for parking offences that were not legally enforceable, as relevant road markings were not present. Mr C feels he is being targeted by the Council because of his sexuality.
- The Council said it had cancelled the PCNs and spoken with its Officer who issued them. It had found no evidence of Mr C being targeted because of his sexuality.
- No evidence has been provided that Mr C is being targeted because of his sexuality, other than the fact that he has been issued with two PCNs.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council has already provided a suitable remedy by cancelling the PCNs and no evidence has been provided that Mr C is being targeted because of his sexuality.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman