Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Penalty Charge Notices because we are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken and proposes to take.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complained the Council has repeatedly pursued him for bus lane fines in the Council’s area, despite the vehicle photographed not being owned by him.
2. Mr Y says this has led to him being contacted by bailiffs and having to repeatedly appeal various PCNs, taking up his time and effort to stop action against him. Mr Y says he felt given the repeated PCNs he had to seek legal advice.

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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 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

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

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My assessment

5. Mr Y says he has been receiving PCNs in relation to a vehicle he does not own for over a year. He says he has been contacted by bailiffs and has had to repeatedly appeal PCNs. Mr Y says he was concerned about his credit rating being affected and sought legal advice, which has cost him financially.
6. Mr Y complained to the Council who, in July 2023, apologised to him, cancelled the PCNs, confirmed it had added Mr Y to a list of exempt vehicles to prevent future PCNs and offered to pay him £175.
7. Mr Y says that he has spent money seeking legal advice and had to contact credit score companies when threatened with county court judgements against him for failure to pay the PCNs. He is seeking payment for the cost of the legal advice. However, the Council has refused this, on the basis Mr Y was not required to seek legal advice in order to appeal the PCNs.
8. The Council is correct in this statement and while Mr Y may have wished to seek such advice, the PCN appeals process is designed to be used by individuals without legal representation. Consequently, the costs of advice were not a direct impact of the PCNs issued wrongly to Mr Y, but a part of his choice of how to respond to them, which was not required.
9. The Council has offered a proportionate and appropriate remedy for the injustice, which is in accordance with our own guidance on remedies. It has recognised the time and trouble Mr Y did go to, and put him into the position he would have been in had the error not have occurred, by cancelling the PCNs. Consequently, we are satisfied with the actions it has taken and which it proposes to take and will not investigate.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because we are satisfied with the actions the Council has taken and proposes to take.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman