Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council pursuing enforcement action in relation to a Penalty Charge Notice it issued to her. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council pursued enforcement action in relation to a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) she said she had paid. As a result, the fine increased and Miss X had to pay more money to the Enforcement Agency. Miss X said it caused her distress. She wants the Council to acknowledge it acted with fault and apologise to her for the injustice caused. Miss X also wants the Council to reimburse her with the additional money she paid to the Enforcement Agency.

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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 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

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

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My assessment

5. In 2023, the Council issued Miss X a PCN as she had parked her vehicle in a permit holder space without having a valid permit to park there. Miss X said she appealed the PCN to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, however it was unsuccessful. Miss X said following her appeal, she called the Council to pay the PCN.
6. In late 2024, Miss X discovered the PCN remained unpaid as an enforcement agency had recently contacted her asking her to pay the PCN with additional fees.
7. Miss X contacted the Council as she was not aware of the PCN being outstanding. She said the Council had not contacted her in relation to it being unpaid. The Council responded to Miss X and explained the dates it had written to her informing her of the outstanding PCN and the progression of her case to enforcement action. The Council said as the correspondence it had sent to Miss X was not returned, this indicated it had been delivered to her. Miss X later paid the Enforcement Agency the PCN including the additional charges.
8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The Council explained to Miss X when it had written to her, notifying her of the unpaid PCN and of enforcement action it was pursuing. We would not expect the Council to provide proof its correspondence had been delivered to Miss X.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman