Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice. The Council has agreed to cancel the notice which is the outcome Mr X was seeking. It is unlikely an investigation by us would lead to a different outcome or achieve anything more.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council is wrongly pursuing him for a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) related to a vehicle he no longer owns. He says the matter has caused distress. He wants the Council to cancel the PCN and stop its enforcement action.

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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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. In response to our request for information, the Council has told us it has reviewed the case and decided it would no longer be pursuing Mr X for the PCN. It said it would remove his details from its system.
6. We will not investigate this complaint as the Council has agreed to cancel the PCN which is the outcome Mr X was seeking. It is unlikely an investigation would lead to a different outcome or achieve anything more.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely an investigation would reach a different outcome or achieve anything more.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman