Summary: Ms X complained about the Council taking a traffic penalty to the enforcement stage without giving her an opportunity to challenge its decision. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council sending the recovery of an unpaid traffic penalty to enforcement agents without her having an opportunity to make representations and challenge the notice. She says there were mitigating circumstances why she parked in a bus lane and that the Council should have allowed her to explain before it sent the matter to court.

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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 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 would find fault, or
• 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered all the information which Ms X submitted with her complaint. I have also considered the Council’s response. Ms X has been given an opportunity to comment on a draft copy of my decision.

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What I found

4. Ms X received contact from enforcement agents acting for the council to recover an unpaid penalty for parking in a bus lane. Ms X says she was unaware of the penalty before this, and that the Council had acted heavy-handedly without affording her an opportunity to challenge the notice.
5. The Council informed her that it had issued the penalty, charge certificate and court recovery order to the address provided by the DVLA which holds vehicle data. Ms X had changed her address but had not updated the details on the vehicle’s V5 document. This meant that she was unable to challenge the penalty before it was sent to the court because she did not receive it at her new address.
6. The Council told her that it followed the statutory enforcement process for penalty notices and that where there is no response to a penalty it is automatically sent to the court. When her current address was identified she was informed of her right to file an out of time statutory declaration to the Traffic Enforcement Centre at the County Court. She could then ask to have the case returned to the notice stage if the court accepted the declaration.
7. Ms X completed a declaration in January 2021, and she subsequently made a payment arrangement with the enforcement agents.
8. The Council followed the enforcement procedure correctly and it was not at fault for sending the penalty correspondence to the address provided by the DVLA. It is a legal requirement for vehicle owners to inform the DVLA of any change of address and failure to do so may result in a fine. Once the Council was aware of her new address it advised Ms X of the alternatives available to her to pay or write to the court.
9. The Council had already advised the court and the enforcement agents of her vulnerability due to her informing them she has mental health issues.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman