Transport for London (26 006 394)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Upheld
Decision date : 15 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice issued by Transport for London. This is because Transport for London has cancelled the penalty charge notice, refunded Ms X’s payment and paid her £200. This provides a suitable remedy for Ms X’s injustice and it is unlikely investigation would achieve significantly more.
The complaint
- Ms X complains Transport for London (TfL) failed to update its systems to show her vehicle as compliant with the ultra-low emission zone emissions standards, following a previous complaint. As a result TfL issued her a further PCN which it escalated and passed to enforcement agents (bailiffs) who visited her property and demanded payment. She says this caused her distress, anxiety, embarrassment, inconvenience and financial loss.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Ms X and the Authority.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- TfL accepts that due to an administrative error it did not add Ms X’s vehicle to its list of compliant vehicles and that it wrongly issued her a further PCN. It apologised to Ms X, cancelled the PCN, arranged a refund of her payment and has paid her £200.
- I appreciate Ms X believes TfL should do more but its actions are broadly sufficient to remedy the injustice caused to Ms X and it is unlikely investigation would achieve significantly more. It would not therefore be a good use of our resources to investigate the matter further.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because TfL’s actions are sufficient to remedy the injustice caused to Ms X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman