Summary: Mrs F complained about the actions of the Council’s Enforcement Agent. She said it did not follow the required procedures and its Officer failed to wear personal protective equipment. As a result, Mrs F said she experienced financial loss and distress. We find there was no fault in the enforcement process. However, on balance, the Enforcement Officer failed to wear the required personal protective equipment during COVID-19. The Council has agreed apologise to Mrs F to remedy the distress this caused.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs F, complained the Council’s Enforcement Agent failed to follow the require procedures when it clamped her car. She said this was because:
• she did not receive its Notice of Enforcement letter;
• it did not offer a repayment plan; and
• the agent did not wear personal protective equipment when he visited her property and clamped her car.
2. As a result, Mrs F said she had a financial loss due to the increased costs and experienced distress due to the enforcement agents’ actions.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)
5. 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

6. As part of my investigation, I have:
• considered Mrs F’s complaint and the Council’s responses;
• discussed the complaint with Mrs F;
• considered the information provided by the Council and the Enforcement Agent working on its behalf;
• given Mrs F and the Council the opportunity to comment on a draft version of this decision, and considered the Council’s comments.

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What I found

Law, guidance and policy

Penalty Charge Notice

7. If the Council believes a parking contravention has occurred, it can issue a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) and instruct an enforcement agency to seize the vehicle if the charge is not paid. When a council issues a PCN, the motorist has 28 days to pay the penalty charge or appeal; appeals at this stage are known as ‘informal challenges’.
8. If the motorist submits an informal challenge to a PCN and the Council decides not to accept it, it will write to the motorist and explain why. If the motorist does not accept the Council’s decision, they may wait for a notice to owner (NTO).
9. A NTO provides a further opportunity for the owner of the vehicle to pay the charge or make ‘formal representations’ against the PCN.
10. If the keeper does not appeal, or the appeal is unsuccessful and the charge remains unpaid, the Council can issue a charge certificate. If the charge remains unpaid after 14 days, the Council can register the debt at the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) by sending an order of recovery. The TEC is a registration point for unpaid penalty charge notices which enables the local authority to enforce the penalty as a County Court Order.
11. The keeper can make a witness statement to the TEC if their appeal meets certain criteria, including not receiving the NTO or a response to their appeal. If the TEC declines the appeal or no appeal is made, the Council can refer the matter to an enforcement agency to recoup the debt.
12. The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 (the Regulations) says a Notice of Enforcement can be delivered by post but must be given to the debtor a least seven days before an enforcement agent takes control of goods. The Regulation also says an agent may secure goods by fitting an immobilisation device (clamp) between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. on any day.

Enforcement action during COVID-19

13. In September 2020, the Ministry of Justice issued guidance for enforcement agents to work safely during COVID-19. Agents should:
• make every possible effort to maintain social distancing as far as possible;
• wear masks when it is not possible to maintain 2-meter social distancing; and
• use disposable gloves when coming into contact with doors, doorbells, documents and vehicle clamps.

What happened

14. In December 2019 the Council issued a parking penalty notice (PCN) to Mrs F for parking without displaying a valid permit in a residential permit scheme area.
15. The PCN offered Mrs F to pay the fee at a discounted rate within 14 days or challenge the PCN.
16. As Mrs F did not pay or challenge the PCN the Council issued a Notice to Owner. This offered her to appeal the PCN or make payment in full.
17. When the Council did not receive payment or an appeal from Mrs F, it issued a Charge Certificate to her. This explained she could no longer appeal the PCN. It explained if she did not pay the debt within 14 days, it would register the debt with the Traffic Enforcement Centre and an Order for Recovery of Unpaid Penalty Charge would be issued.
18. Mrs F did not pay and so the Council registered the debt, and an Order for Recovery of the Penalty Charge was sent to her. This explained if the debt was not paid her possessions may be removed and sold to pay for the charge.
19. In September 2020, the Traffic Enforcement Centre authorised a Warrant of Execution, which allowed the Council to enforce the debt. The Council passed the debt to its Enforcement Agent on the same day.
20. The Enforcement Agent says it sent Mrs F a Notice of Enforcement by first class post, which explained it was collecting the debt and gave a deadline for her to pay.
21. As Mrs F did not pay or contact the Enforcement Agent, an Enforcement Officer visited Mrs F’s home to collect the debt. During the process her car was clamped, and Mrs F arranged for the debt to be paid in full.
22. Mrs F was unhappy with the actions of the Enforcement Officer and complained to both the Council and the Enforcement Agent. She said she had:
• not received the Notice of Enforcement, but had received all the previous correspondence;
• not paid or challenged the PCN as it had slipped her mind; and
• experienced distress as the Agent had visited her home at 6.30 a.m. with no warning and clamped her car.
23. In response the Council did not uphold Mrs F’s complaint. It found the Enforcement Agent had reasonably and lawfully enforced the PCN issued to her. It explained the process it had followed and provided copies of the letters sent to her, which included the Notice of Enforcement.
24. The Enforcement Agent also responded to Mrs F’s complaint. It apologised for the distress she may have experienced during the enforcement process but found no fault in its actions.
25. Mrs F told the Council she was aware it would pass the debt to its Enforcement Agent. However, the Agent’s actions were illegal as she had not received the Notice of Enforcement. She said if she had received this, she would have contacted the Agent and arranged a payment plan as she was struggling financially. Mrs F also said the Agent’s Officer had failed to wear any personal protective equipment (PPE) such as a mask or gloves during his visit.
26. The Council did not change its view in its final complaint response. It told Mrs F it expects its Enforcement Agent to send letters by first class post. It had seen its records that this had happened, but it could not provide any further evidence of postage. It also said the Enforcement Agent had trained its staff on PPE during COVID-19.

Mrs F remains unhappy with the Enforcement Agent’s actions and so she complained to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

27. Mrs F is not contesting the PCN and has confirmed she received all the Council’s correspondence prior to passing her debt to its Enforcement Agent. I will therefore only consider the actions of Enforcement Agent.
28. The evidence shows the Enforcement Agent sent Mrs F the Notice of Enforcement six weeks before it took further action. I cannot say why Mrs F did not receive the Notice. However, the Council was not at fault for failing to send her the Notice as required by the Regulations. This is because the Enforcement Agent’s records show it posted the letter.
29. Mrs F also said the Enforcement Agent failed to offer her a repayment plan and its Officer failed to wear the required personal protective equipment during COVID-19.
30. The Regulations do not require the Enforcement Agent to offer Mrs F a repayment plan. It can use its discretions to recover the debt owed, which includes clamping of a car. It was therefore not at fault for clamping Mrs F’s car and asking her to pay the debt in full.
31. However, based on the evidence available, I am not satisfied the Enforcement Officer wore the required PPE equipment when he visited Mrs F property and clamped her car. I acknowledge the Council said the Enforcement Agent had received training on PPE during COVID-19. But this does not evidence the Officer followed the instructions given to him. I therefore find, on balance, the Officer did not follow the COVID-19 PPE guidance in place at the time. I am satisfied this cause Mrs F some limited distress.

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Agreed action

32. To remedy the injustice the Enforcement Agent caused to Mrs F, the Council should, within one month of the final decision:
1. apologise for the avoidable distress caused by the Enforcement Officer’s failure to wear personal protective equipment.

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Final decision

33. There was no fault on the substantive part of Mrs F’s complaint. However, there was fault leading to injustice as the Enforcement Officer failed to wear personal protective equipment. The Council has agreed to my decision, I have therefore completed my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman