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

The complaint

1. Miss Y complained the Council passed her details to enforcement agents, who she then had to pay approximately £500 to for an unpaid Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). Miss Y also complained she did not receive any contact from the Council about the PCN and the enforcement agents have not allowed her to pay in monthly instalments.
2. Miss Y feels this has caused her worry and upset and feels the charges are unfair because she was unaware of the PCN.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Information about the registered keeper, in this case Miss Y, is provided to the Council by the DVLA in accordance with a statutory process. It is the responsibility of the registered keeper of a vehicle to ensure that their details, including their current address is kept up to date on their V5c documents with the DVLA.
6. Where a person has not kept their information up to date with the DVLA, we would not find fault in the Council sending correspondence relating to a PCN to a previous address, as registered with the DVLA.
7. We would also not find fault with the Council, having not received a response to its correspondence then proceeding to use enforcement agents to try to recover the debt. Councils are allowed to pass information to enforcement agents about debtors to allow a liability order for the debt to be enforced.
8. Enforcement agents may then use different methods to trace an individual, such as searching the electoral role. In this instance, it appears this is how Miss Y was contacted, by which time the PCN amount had increased, and enforcement agent fees applied. We would not find fault in this.
9. Where a debt is owed it is the decision of the body owed the debt who can agree, where there is a liability order in place, whether instalments are acceptable as a form of payment. It is not an automatic entitlement that a debt can be paid in instalments. Consequently, it is unlikely we would find fault in the payment being expected to be made in full.
10. As there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss 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