Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s enforcement of a Penalty Charge Notice. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify our involvement. In addition, Mr X has used his right to ask the court to consider this case which places the matter outside our remit.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about poor communication between the Council and its Enforcement Agent. He believes this has caused him to incur unnecessary fees for a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) issued in May 2022, which he paid in October 2024. He wants the Council to instruct the Enforcement Agent to cease enforcement and waive the charges because the Council has accepted payment of the original PCN.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
4. 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))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. If a motorist breaks moving traffic rules, they might receive a fine. This fine is called a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).
8. The council 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.
9. The motorist has 28 days from the date of the notice to pay the fine or ‘make representations’ against it.
10. The fine is usually halved if it is paid within 14 days in London or within 21 days outside London.
11. The council can issue a charge certificate 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.

12. If the fine is still not paid, the council can register the debt with the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court. The council can then ask enforcement agents (bailiffs) to collect payment for the fine and the bailiff’s costs.
13. The Council issued a PCN to Mr X following a traffic contravention in May 2022. The Council issued a charge certificate in late June 2022. Mr X filed a late appeal with the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) in August 2024. Mr X asked the TEC to allow his late statutory declaration because he said he had no prior knowledge of the PCN and had not received any of the three notices the Council had sent to his postal address about it. The TEC considered Mr X’s appeal but rejected it in October 2024. Mr X accessed the Council’s online portal and paid the original PCN fine shortly after his appeal to the TEC was rejected.
14. Because the courts have considered Mr X’s appeal request, the law says we have no jurisdiction to consider those same matters now. This includes whether Mr X remains liable for the Enforcement Agent’s charges.
15. Since making his complaint to us, the Council has further clarified to Mr X that his late payment of the original PCN does not negate the Enforcement Agent’s entitlement to recover charges incurred prior to this.
16. Mr X believes poor communication between the Council and the Enforcement Agent has led to his injustice. There is no evidence of fault by the Council in this case as it has fully explained its position on the Enforcement Agent’s outstanding charges now the original PCN has been paid. Because of this and the reasons given in paragraph 13 above, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

17. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council and liability for the remaining charges is a matter for the courts to determine.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman