Summary: Miss X complained the Council took six weeks to respond to her request to pay a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) in instalments. Miss X says this meant she did not have the opportunity to pay the PCN at the discounted rate and it then issued the charge certificate further increasing the penalty by £65. The Council was not at fault for charging Miss X the full amount of the PCN as this was in line with its payment arrangement policy. The Council was at fault for issuing the charge certificate further increasing the fine before it responded to Miss X’s instalment request. This has caused distress, frustration and financial uncertainty. The Council has agreed to apologise and deduct the £65 from what is owed.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s handling of her Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). The Council took six weeks to respond to her request to pay the PCN in instalments. Miss X says this meant she did not have the opportunity to pay the PCN at the discounted rate and the Council then issued the charge certificate further increasing the penalty. This has caused her distress, frustration and financial uncertainty.

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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’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

Fines for breaking moving traffic rules

6. If a motorist breaks moving traffic rules, they might receive a fine. This fine is called a Penalty Charge Notice.
7. The authority will send the notice to the person who appears to own the vehicle (usually the registered keeper) by post. The notice will show the fine amount and how to appeal.
8. The motorist has 28 days from the date of the notice to pay the fine or ‘make representations’ against it.
9. The fine is usually halved if it is paid within 14 days in London or within 21 days outside London.
10. The authority can issue a charge certificate after 28 days which increases the fine by 50% if:

• the fine is not paid;
• the motorist does not appeal against the fine; or
• the appeal is not successful.

The Council’s payment arrangement policy

11. The Council has a process in place for those experiencing financially difficulty to pay the PCN in instalments. A form must be filled out online to request a payment arrangement. On this form, it says the Council can only accept instalment plans on the full charge of the PCN not the 50% discounted rate.

What happened

12. The Council issued Miss X with a PCN at the end of October 2024 for a traffic offence earlier on in the month. The PCN fine was £130 which she had 28 days to pay. If Miss X paid within the first 14 days, she could pay it at the discounted rate of £65. If the fine was unpaid after the 28 days, the Council would issue a charge certificate increasing the total by £65 to £195.
13. Miss X requested to pay the PCN by instalments the day after the Council issued the PCN. The Council emailed back six weeks later in December 2024 agreeing the instalment plan and notifying her the total to pay was £195.
14. Miss X made a complaint to the Council the same month saying she had requested to pay £65 by instalments for the PCN the Council issued her. She advised she was a single parent on low income. Miss X says had she known it would have increased by that much she would have borrowed the £65 from family to pay it.
15. The Council said it could not accept the complaint as it was outside the scope of its complaints policy. It advised Miss X she could appeal the fine or bring the matter to us. Miss X remained dissatisfied with the Council’s handling of matter and complained to us.

Council’s response to our enquiries

16. The Council said it should have offered the payment plan at the full penalty charge of £130 and not the increased amount of £195. The Council said this was an administrative error and usually officers check the date of the payment arrangement request before issuing a charge certificate.
17. The Council has also said it asked the relevant manager to provide a full response to Miss X advising her of its mistake. It also asked the manager to send a reminder to officers to ensure backlogged payment arrangement requests are correctly managed according to the dates they are received. However, this has not happened due to the manager being on leave.

My findings

18. When Miss X requested to pay the penalty charge in instalments, she thought this would be for a charge of £65 at the 50% discounted rate. When the Council advised six weeks later, it would £195 Miss X complained. On the payment arrangement form Miss X filled in, it advises the Council can only accept instalment plans on the full charge of the PCN not the discounted rate. This is also explained on the Council’s website. Therefore, Miss X was always going to have to pay the full amount regardless of the six weeks it took to respond. The Council was not at fault for charging Miss X £130.
19. The Council has accepted fault for increasing the fine and issuing the charge certificate which it explained was due to an administrative error. This fault caused Miss X distress, frustration and financial uncertainty. The Council has agreed to reduce the fine back to £130 which Miss X can pay in instalments.

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Action

20. Within one month of the final decision, the Council has agreed to take the following action:
1. Apologise to Miss X for the distress, frustration and uncertainty caused by the Council’s administrative error increasing the PCN by £65. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The Council should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended.
2. Offer Miss X an instalment plan to pay £130.
3. Remind all relevant officers to check the date of payment instalment requests to ensure charge certificates are not issued in error.
21. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

22. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman