Westminster City Council (24 020 853)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 09 Apr 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to warrant investigation.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council wrongly passed his case to a debt collection agency whilst he was still waiting for a response to his representations.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says he changed address and using a mail redirection service caused a delay in him receiving the Notice to Owner for a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). Mr X made representations to the Council to let him pay the reduced rate. The Council accepted Mr X’s request and gave him another 14 days to pay. The Council sent its response via letter to Mr X’s previous address.
- The Council is required to send correspondence to the registered keeper’s address listed with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). It is Mr X’s responsibility to ensure his address is updated, as is the mail redirection service. Royal Mail says on its website using its redirection service adds a day to delivery times, which is not significant enough to be relevant here.
- The evidence shows the Council followed the correct process to pass the debt to the debt collection agency, as it did not receive a payment or response from Mr X after the representations were made and it replied.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to warrant further investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman