Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s enforcement action in relation to a Penalty Charge Notice. Further investigation would not achieve a different, more meaningful outcome.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to make reasonable adjustments when passing a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) to enforcement agents. His concerns included the Council:
• failed to verify he received the Notice of Enforcement;
• failed to consider his vulnerability or communicate this to its enforcement agents;
• allowed its enforcement agents to coerce him into paying the full amount immediately and make discriminatory comments; and
• did not properly investigate his complaint due to the absence of body-worn camera footage.
2. Mr X said the matter caused financial harm, as he was denied the opportunity to pay in instalments, and significant distress.
3. He wanted the Council to acknowledge fault, apologise, provide explanations and make service improvements. He also wanted it to compensate him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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:

• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. Mr X paid enforcement agents £515 when they attended his property. He says the agents coerced him into paying, and he was not given the option to agree a payment plan. Mr X says this led to unnecessary credit card interest charges.
8. Mr X complained to the Council about its enforcement agents. The Council investigated the matter but found body-worn camera footage was not available.
9. Because the Council could not come to a sound conclusion, it cancelled Mr X’s PCN and refunded the money he had paid to the enforcement agents. Mr X then complained to us.
10. If we investigated this complaint, we could not achieve a different or more meaningful outcome. When we recommend symbolic payments for distress, we will normally recommend up to £500 in cases where the person been caused serious injustice for an extended period.
11. It is not proportionate to investigate this complaint further.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because doing so would not achieve a different or more meaningful outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman