Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mrs Y complained the Council has charged her an increased amount for a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) despite her sending a cheque for the discounted amount within the initial time period. She says the cheque she sent to the Council was later returned to her by the Council after she had paid the higher amount, showing it was received. She is unhappy the Council has refused to refund the difference in the amounts she tried to pay.
2. Mrs Y says she has been upset and feels she has overpaid for the PCN by £139.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information Mrs Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs Y says that she sent the cheque for the original PCN amount in April 2022, for £65, within the time frame for the penalty to be discounted. The Council says this cheque was not received until six months after Mrs Y said she sent it, and as it had not received payment of the penalty, it had progressed to the enforcement stage, which increased the amount.
6. Mrs Y says she then had to pay an increase amount of £204 in June. The Council says it then returned a cheque to Mrs Y for £65 after it received it in September, when Mrs Y subsequently complained. The Council responded to the complaint, denying any fault as the cheque had not been received in time. Mrs Y then approached us in January 2023.

Analysis

7. The amount of a penalty increases when the Council does not receive payment for a PCN. In this case, the Council says the cheque was not received and so it increased the penalty, in accordance with the process. While Mrs Y may believe otherwise, without evidence the cheque was received by the Council within the discounted period, it is unlikely we would find fault in the Council charging the amount the penalty had increased to by that time.
8. The Council says that the cheque was received and returned in September 2022, after Mrs Y had already paid the higher amount of £204. Any delay by the postal service Mrs Y used would not be the fault of the Council, and so we would be unlikely to find the Council at fault for not providing a refund. Consequently, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs Y’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman