Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice issued by the Council. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court to make a late witness statement/statutory declaration.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains he did not receive a penalty charge notice (PCN) from the Council and had no knowledge of it until the Council instructed enforcement agents (bailiffs) to recover payment from him. He says he cannot afford to pay the increased amount owed and the issue has caused him to feel depressed.

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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 effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
5. The Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) is part of Northampton County Court. It considers applications from local authorities to pursue payment of unpaid PCNs and from motorists to challenge local authorities’ pursuit of unpaid PCNs.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. It is a legal requirement to inform the DVLA of a change of address and to update the vehicle log book (V5C) to show the correct address for the registered keeper.
9. It appears Mr X may not have updated the DVLA about his change of address and as a result he did not receive the PCN issued by the Council. This was not the result of any fault by the Council and we cannot therefore recommend it takes any action to remedy the complaint.
10. Mr X does however have an alternative remedy for the issue which does not require him to prove fault. He may apply to the TEC to make a late witness statement/statutory declaration on the grounds he did not receive the PCN. He may do this regardless of whether he complied with the legal requirement referred to at Paragraph 7.
11. If the TEC accepts Mr X’s application it may order the Council to take the process back to an earlier stage, reducing the amount of the penalty charge and removing the basis for any fees charged by the bailiffs. If the TEC refuses Mr X’s application he may apply for a review of its decision.
12. I have seen nothing to suggest it would not be reasonable for Mr X to use this process and I will not therefore exercise my discretion to investigate his complaint. It is in any event unlikely that investigation would find fault by the Council or, therefore, achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X for the reasons set out at Paragraph 8.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council and it would be reasonable for Mr X to take the matter to the TEC.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman