London Borough of Redbridge (25 000 420)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Upheld
Decision date : 20 Jul 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to pay Mr X’s costs as it was ordered to do by London Tribunals. This is because the Council has agreed to pay the costs, apologise to Mr X and pay him £100 for his time and trouble. This provides a suitable remedy for the complaint and it is therefore unlikely investigation would achieve significantly more for Mr X.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council failed to pay him the costs awarded by London Tribunals as part of his appeal against a penalty charge notice. He says the Council told him this was because it had applied for a review of the Tribunal’s decision but the Tribunal confirmed to Mr X’s representative (Mr Y) that it had not.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr Y and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Based on the evidence provided by Mr Y it appears there are no good reasons for the Council to withhold payment of the costs awarded to Mr X by London Tribunals. I have therefore invited the Council to remedy the complaint by:
- Apologising to Mr X
- Paying Mr X the costs awarded by the Tribunal
- Paying Mr X £100 for his time and trouble in pursuing the complaint.
- The Council has agreed to this proposal and this provides a suitable remedy for the complaint; it is therefore unlikely further investigation would achieve significantly more for Mr X.
- The Council should complete the agreed remedy within four weeks of the date of this decision.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the actions the Council has agreed provide a suitable remedy for the complaint and it is unlikely investigation would achieve significantly more for Mr X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman