Transport for London (25 016 484)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 18 Mar 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about penalty charge notices. There is insufficient injustice to warrant investigation.
The complaint
- Mr X complains Transport for London (TfL) incorrectly issued five penalty charge notices (PCNs). He says he did not drive in the congestion charge zone and TFL and did not respond to his representations or request for breathing space. Mr X also complains of poor complaint handling.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Authority.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X was issued five PCNs for non-payment of the congestion charges. He made representations to TfL, explaining he did not believe he had entered the congestion charge zone and requesting breathing space.
- TfL explained the locations Mr X had driven in were within the congestion charge zone. It said Mr X had not included enough identifying information in his representations for it to process them or apply breathing space. TfL has cancelled all five PCNs as a goodwill gesture.
- Because all the PCNs have now been cancelled, there is insufficient remaining injustice to warrant investigation.
- We will also not investigate how the Authority dealt with Mr X’s complaint as it is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint handling when we are not looking at the substantive issue.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient injustice to warrant investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman