Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s enforcement of penalty charge notices as it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council wrongly obtained permission from the court to use enforcement agents (bailiffs) to collect money owed regarding motoring penalty charge notices (PCNs) the Council had issued to him. Mr X says that as he had made a payment arrangement with the Council and had paid some of the money owed off, the Council was wrong to take further 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 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 the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council wrote to Mr X in February 2025 to notify him that payment remained outstanding for two PCNs. When Mr X made no payment, the Council applied to court to allow it to use enforcement agents to collect the debt.
6. Information the Council has supplied indicates its enforcement agent had, at an earlier date, been in touch with Mr X about an unrelated PCN. Mr X made a payment but the payment was assigned to this unrelated PCN. Later, after receiving the Orders for Recovery for two other PCNs, Mr X contacted the Council making his case that a payment arrangement had been set up.
7. We will not investigate as it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council. The evidence available indicates Mr X did make a payment on a third PCN via the Council’s bailiffs. However, the Council wrote to Mr X explaining that two other PCNs remained outstanding and full payment was due, to prevent further enforcement action being taken. I recognise Mr X considered a payment arrangement was in place, but he looks to have received no confirmation of this and when he received the reminder letter, had Mr X contacted the Council for clarification, the use of bailiffs might have been avoided. As it was, the Council took the enforcement action it was entitled to in law, and we will not investigate as I consider it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council in taking this action.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman