Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council handled a telephone call about a penalty charge notice. We are satisfied with the actions already undertaken by the Council in response to the complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the way the Council handled his telephone call regarding a penalty charge notice (PCN) and the enforcement officer who issued it. In particular, Mr X says the Council:
• failed to call him back despite being given assurances that it would do so.
• lied in the initial complaint response about the sequence of events.
• failed to give him the correct information about how to submit a complaint about the enforcement officer.
2. Mr X says the Council’s actions had a huge impact on his mental health and he thinks it should cancel the PCN and give him compensation.

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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 an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has already taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference, or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
5. London Tribunals considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered:
• information provided by Mr X and the Council, which included their complaint correspondence.
• a recording of Mr X’s telephone call with a customer services officer in the Council’s parking team.
• the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Mr X submitted an appeal against the PCN to the Council. With reference to paragraphs 4 and 5 above, we would normally expect him to continue to follow the statutory appeal process if he remains unhappy with the Council’s response to his representations.
8. The Council has, however, offered its sincere apologies for not calling Mr X back as promised, and acknowledges the distress this caused him. It also apologised for providing incorrect information in the Stage 1 response about the sequence of events after the call. It explains this was a typing error.
9. The Council also acknowledges it could have redirected Mr X back to its general call centre, for a complaint about the enforcement officer to be logged over the phone. It says it will ensure the parking team is made aware of this option. It remains open to Mr X to submit a complaint to the Council about this particular issue.
10. Overall, I am satisfied the apologies and reminder to staff were an appropriate way to address the complaint. With reference to paragraph 3 above, the Ombudsman will therefore not start an investigation.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are satisfied with the actions already undertaken by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman