Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a penalty charge notice. This is because the complaint is late and I have seen no good reasons for the delay in bringing it to us.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council failed to respond to her challenge to a penalty charge notice for a bus lane contravention and escalated the case to enforcement agents despite her paying the penalty charge on the advice of an agent on its telephone helpline.

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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. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

Background

7. The Council issued the PCN Mrs X refers to in October 2023. Mrs X challenged it in November 2023 and the Council responded on 4 January 2024, but Mrs X did not receive the response.
8. The Council escalated the case and issued an enforcement notice on 12 February 2024 which stated she should pay the full amount of the penalty charge (£130) or make representations against the PCN within 28 days. Mrs X contacted the Council to query why it had escalated the case but did not pay or make representations.
9. The Council responded to Mrs X on 29 February explaining that it had rejected her initial challenge and providing a copy of its letter. The Council also confirmed Mrs X needed to pay the full amount shown in the enforcement notice but she paid only the discounted amount of £65. She says she did this on the advice of an agent on the Council’s telephone helpline.
10. Because Mrs X did not pay the full amount of the penalty charge or make representations against the PCN the Council continued to escalate the case, issuing a charge certificate on 8 April 2024 and registering the case with the Traffic Enforcement Centre on 21 August 2024. It then instructed enforcement agents (bailiffs) to pursue Mrs X for payment. Mrs X says she paid the bailiffs to stop further action but although she asked them not to forward her payment to the Council, it did.

Analysis

11. Mrs X knew she had not received a response from the Council to her challenge by 14 February 2024 when she received the enforcement notice. She was aware from 29 February 2024 that the Council had responded and that the full amount of the penalty charge was due. She then found out the Council had escalated the case despite her payment when it issued her the charge certificate on 8 April 2024. She complained to the Council in October 2024 and had a final response declining to consider her complaint further and directing her to us on 22 October 2024. But Mrs X did not complain to us until January 2026 and her complaint is therefore late.
12. I have considered whether there are grounds to exercise our discretion to investigate the complaint but I have found no good reasons to do so. Mrs X was clearly aware she had reason to complain more than 20 months before she came to us and despite the Council referring her to us directly in October 2024. I have seen no good reason for this delay and consider it is unlikely we could reach any meaningful conclusions about what she says she was told in February 2024 anyway, as this was more than two years ago. It is also unlikely we would find fault in the Council’s handling of Mrs X’s challenge, as we cannot prove the Council did not send its response, or in its escalation of the case, which was in accordance with the statutory process.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is late and I have seen no good reasons for the delay.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman