Summary: Miss X complained the Council wrongly pursued her for fourteen Penalty Charge Notices incurred by a vehicle she no longer owned. Miss X said the Council actions caused her significant worry and distress. The Council failed to fully consider representations and evidence provided and pursued Miss X for PCNs she evidenced she was not responsible for. The Council complaint handling was poor. This frustrated and distressed Miss X and she was put to time and trouble to complain. The Council will apologise, make a financial payment and provide guidance to relevant staff.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council wrongly pursued her for 14 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) incurred by a vehicle she no longer owned. Miss X said the Council actions caused her significant worry and distress.

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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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a Council’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 read Miss X’s complaint and spoke to her about it on the phone.
5. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Miss X and the Council now have an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Background information

7. If a motorist breaks parking rules, they might receive a fine. This fine is called a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).
8. The motorist has 28 days to pay the fine or appeal. This is called an ‘informal challenge’. The fine is usually halved if it is paid within 14 days or within 21 days if the notice was sent by post.
9. If the authority rejects an ‘informal challenge’, it will write and say why. If the motorist accepts what the authority says, they can pay the fine. If they do not accept what it says, they should wait for the authority to send them a letter and form called a ‘notice to owner’. They can then make 'representations’ Against the PCN.
10. The authority has 56 days to reply to representations. If it does not reply within that time, it must cancel the fine.
11. If the formal representation is rejected the owner may appeal against the PCN to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. If the keeper does not appeal, or the appeal is unsuccessful, and the owner still does not pay the charge, the Council can issue a charge certificate. If the charge remains unpaid, the Council can register the debt at the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) acting as part of the Northampton County Court.
12. If the fine is still not paid, the authority can register the debt with the TEC. It can then ask enforcement agents (bailiffs) to collect payment for the fine and bailiff’s costs.
13. The motorist can apply to the TEC to ask them to cancel the registration of the debt. They do this by filling in a witness statement or statutory declaration.
14. If the motorist is successful, the TEC might order the authority to go back to an earlier stage which will reduce the fine and they will not have to pay the bailiff’s costs. It might also give them back their right to appeal.
15. If the motorist is too late to make a witness statement they might be able to ask the TEC to look at their application ‘out of time’. If the TEC will not look at the application ‘out of time’ they might be able to ask them to review their decision.
16. The DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) is responsible for maintaining vehicle records and vehicle registration certificates.

What happened

17. This is a summary of events, outlining key facts and does not cover everything that has occurred in this case.
18. Miss X sold a car she previously owned in June 2023. From September 2023, the Council started issuing PCNs for issues relating to parking of the car. The Council sent notices to Miss X’s old address. The Council instructed bailiffs to recover the debt. The bailiffs contacted Miss X in September 2024 to recover the debt.
19. Miss X contacted the Council in October 2024 to confirm she was not the registered keeper of the car when it issued the PCNs. She confirmed she sold the car in June 2023 and provided the details of the new owner.
20. The Council response in November 2024 set out Miss X was the registered keeper with the DVLA when it issued the PCN. It set out six ways Miss X could prove she was not the registered keeper. The sixth option was “ask the DVLA to send you a confirmation of when you stopped being the registered keeper”.
21. Miss X contacted the DVLA. The DVLA issued a letter at the end of November 2024. The letter confirmed Miss X was not the registered keeper from June 2023. Miss X sent this letter to the Council.
22. In December 2024, the Council sent Miss X the same letter from November 2024, setting out six ways she could prove she was not the registered keeper of the car. Miss X responded and said she provided the evidence she was not the registered keeper at the time of the PCNs.
23. Miss X contacted the Council again in March 2025. She said the Council was still pursuing her for PCNs for a car she was not the registered keeper for. Miss X provided the details of the person she sold the car to. The Council said Miss X was the registered keeper at the time of the PCNs, so she was responsible.
24. Miss X complained to the Council at the end of March 2025. She complained the Council had not updated its records despite her providing evidence she was not the registered keeper of the car. Miss X complained the Council continued to pursue her for payment of the PCNs for a car she did not own.
25. The Council wrote to Miss X at the start of April 2025. It said it could not consider a PCN complaint as she could appeal to the TEC.
26. Miss X approached the TEC in April 2025. The TEC confirmed Miss X could not appeal the PCNs as it was too late to appeal them.
27. Miss X contacted the Council to inform it of the TEC decision. The Council said the DVLA confirmed, at the time, Miss X was the registered keeper of the car, so she was responsible for the PCNs. The Council said as Miss X had not provided a sale document, it would not consider this matter further.
28. Miss X was not satisfied with the Council’s response and has asked the Ombudsman to investigate. Miss X would like the Council to update its records and cancel the PCNs.
29. In response to my enquiries the Council stated it considered the DVLA letter, but it “did not constitute conclusive evidence” when Miss X ceased to be the registered keeper of the car, and it needed more evidence of the sale. The Council also accepted it should have considered Miss X’s complaint as it contained more than just the PCN issues.

My findings

30. The Ombudsman’s role is to review how councils have made decisions. We may criticise a council if, for example, it has not followed an appropriate procedure, not considered relevant information, or failed to properly explain a decision it has made. We call this ‘fault’, and where we find it, we can consider the consequences of the fault and ask the council to address these.
31. However, we do not provide a right of appeal against council decisions, and we cannot make operational or policy decisions on councils’ behalf. If we do not find fault in how a council has made a decision, then we cannot criticise it, no matter how strongly a complainant feels it is the wrong decision. We do not uphold complaints simply because someone disagrees with what a council has done.
32. The Council asked Miss X to provide evidence she was not the registered keeper at the time of the PCNs. The Council gave Miss X six ways to do this. Option six in the letter says “Ask DVLA to send you a confirmation of when you stopped being the registered keeper”.
33. Miss X asked the DVLA to provide her with a letter confirming when she stopped being the registered keeper. The letter, dated the end of November 2024, stated “I’ve updated our records today to show that you are no longer the keeper from June 2023”. The Council has since asked for more information, saying the DVLA letter did not “constitute conclusive evidence of when Miss X ceased to be the registered keeper”.
34. The Council told Miss X she was the registered keeper at the time of the PCNs, so she was responsible. Miss X sent the DVLA letter as evidence. The Council stated it considered the letter. However, it continued to say it checked with the DVLA at the time of issuing the PCNs. Miss X is not responsible for any delays within the DVLA to update the ownership detail. The DVLA letter evidences Miss X was not the registered keeper at the time of the PCNs. This shows the Council has not fully considered the evidence. This is fault.
35. When the Council gave Miss X six options to prove she was not the registered keeper, it did not state it needed more than one form of evidence. Miss X provided the DVLA letter, as requested. The DVLA letter confirmed when Miss X stopped being the registered keeper. If Miss X provided information for the DVLA to be satisfied she was not the registered keeper, the DVLA letter should be enough for the Council. Asking for more information was not reasonable, given the evidence Miss X provided. The Council, and the enforcement agency, has continued to pursue Miss X for PCNs she has proved she was not responsible for. This is fault, distressing Miss X.

Complaint handling

36. The Council did not consider Miss X’s complaint as she had an appeal right. The complaint included concerns about the Council record keeping. The Council accepted it did not fully consider Miss X’s complaint. This is fault, frustrating Miss X.

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Recommended action

37. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused to Miss X by the fault I have identified, the Council will take the following action within 4 weeks of this final decision:
• Apologise to Miss X for the fault identified in this investigation. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
• Cancel all PCNs in Miss X’s name after the date detailed in the November 2024 DVLA letter.
• Pay Miss X £100 as an acknowledgement of the time and trouble she has spent pursuing this complaint.
• Pay Miss X £300 to recognise the distress, frustration and uncertainty caused by the Council pursuing her for PCNs she was not responsible for.
• Remind relevant staff of the importance of effective complaint handling and responding in line with the Council policy.
• Remind relevant staff to fully consider representations and evidence provided in response to PCNs.
38. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

39. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault by the Council, which caused injustice to Miss X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman