Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Penalty Charge Notices. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to justify us investigating.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council did not properly consider the mitigation he supplied to it about three Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) he had received.
2. Mr X said this caused distress and frustration.
3. Mr X wants the Council to end enforcement action, apologise and review its processes.

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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 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

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

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My assessment

7. Mr X received three Penalty Charge Notices during 2025.
8. Mr X contacted the Council and provided mitigation for it to consider.
9. The Council considered the mitigation Mr X had provided but decided not to change how it intended to enforce the PCNs. The mitigation Mr X provided did not meet the statutory grounds for appeal as laid out in Schedule 1 of the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003.
10. We will not investigate this complaint. Our role is not to ask whether an organisation could have done things better, or whether we agree or disagree with what it did. Instead, we look at whether there was fault in how it made its decisions. If we decide there was no fault in how it did so, we cannot ask whether it should have made a particular decision or say it should have reached a different outcome.
11. Mr X does not appear to be complaining about the Council’s decisions to issue the PCNs. However, if he does wish to challenge them, he can appeal to London Tribunals. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when a person has a right of appeal to a tribunal.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify us investigating.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman