Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to cancel a Penalty Charge Notice. The Council has now offered to cancel it and we would be unlikely to achieve significantly more.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council did not properly consider his representations against a penalty charge notice (PCN), refused to cancel it and did not send him video he requested of the incident.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Authority.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council issued a PCN to Mr X and rejected his representation against it. After we asked the Council for information about the complaint, the Council offered to cancel the PCN and will refund the money Mr X paid to settle it. There is no significant remaining injustice to warrant us investigating. Any investigation by us would be unlikely to achieve significantly more.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the main injustice to Mr X is resolved and it is unlikely we would achieve significantly more than the Council has already offered.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman