Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about seizure of her vehicle by Council-commissioned Enforcement Agents. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council or its Agent to warrant us investigating.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Enforcement Agent commissioned by the Council seized her vehicle. She says it failed to respond to her offer, made before the deadline, to pay off the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) in instalments. She wants:

• a review of the Council’s oversight of the Enforcement Agents it commissions;
• reimbursement of the fees incurred;
• return of her vehicle; and,
• compensation for any resulting damages.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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))
3. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(1)(A) and 25(7), as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Enforcement Agent has responded to Miss X’s complaints under both stages of its complaint procedure. The Agent advised its notice of enforcement to Miss X that she needed to either make payment for the PCN or agree a payment arrangement by 6:00 on 7 December 2024. The Agent noted Miss X had emailed on 2 December 2024 and received an automated acknowledgement explaining she would receive a response in 10 working days. The Agent explained that because Miss X did not have an agreed payment arrangement in place by the deadline, it had taken steps to seize her vehicle on 9 December 2024. The Agent then held off auctioning Miss X’s vehicle until early April 2025 while it responded to her complaints.
7. We will not investigate as it is unlikely we will find evidence of fault by the Agent acting on the Council’s behalf. There is no evidence to support Miss X’s claim the Agent seized her vehicle before the notice of enforcement deadline had expired. The Agent then appears to have given Miss X additional time to arrange a payment plan before taking further action.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council or its Agent to warrant it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman