Summary: We have upheld Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to provide a reply to his formal representations against a Penalty Charge Notice. This is because the Council has agreed to cancel it and refund Mr X with the amount he has already paid. This provides a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council incorrectly handled a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) he was issued by not providing a reply to his formal representations. Mr X says this has caused him distress and would like his representations considered. Mr X has since paid the increased cost of the PCN.

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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 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 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 Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. If we were to investigate, we would likely find fault with the Council causing Mr X injustice. This is because it has failed to provide Mr X with either a Notice of Rejection or Notice of Acceptance in relation to his representations within the required 56 days in accordance with the Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Representations and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2022. This prevented Mr X from being able to appeal to the London Tribunals about the PCN.
6. We have therefore invited the Council to agree a remedy for Mr X which, to its credit, the Council has accepted.

Agreed actions

7. The Council has agreed to cancel the PCN and refund Mr X the amount of £160 he has already paid. This provides a suitable remedy for Mr X and it is unlikely an investigation would achieve anything further for him.
8. The Council should do this within one month of the date of this decision and provide us with evidence that the above recommendation has been completed.

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Final decision

9. We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman