Norfolk County Council (25 027 695)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Upheld
Decision date : 09 Mar 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council wrongly sent bailiff letters as it has already remedied the injustice caused.
The complaint
- Miss X complains the Council’s enforcement agents (bailiffs) wrongly sent her letters threatening enforcement action regarding an outstanding penalty charge notice (PCN) which Miss X had appealed to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) against. Miss X says this caused her stress and made her feel unwell. Miss X would like a financial payment from the Council in recognition of this.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council acknowledged the bailiff letters had been sent in error and apologised to Miss X for this and cancelled the PCN which at that point was for £70. The Council also said it had put in place measures to prevent the same thing happening again.
- I recognise Miss X remains unhappy about what took place and the Council’s remedy but I am satisfied with its actions. I do not consider that any remaining injustice caused to Miss X is at a level that would warrant our further involvement, in the public interest. We will not therefore investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because I am satisfied with the actions the Council has taken to remedy the injustice caused to Miss X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman