London Borough of Hounslow (26 008 050)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Upheld
Decision date : 20 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the enforcement of a parking penalty charge notice as the Council has taken satisfactory remedial action.
The complaint
- Mr X complains he had to pay £240 to clear a parking penalty charge notice (PCN) when he should only have had to pay £80. Mr X says pursuing this has caused him stress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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 the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X paid the PCN at the discounted rate of £80 but then submitted an appeal against it to London Tribunals (LT). LT rejected the appeal and ordered Mr X to pay the PCN at the full rate of £160. Mr X says he was forced to pay the £160 despite him having already paid £80 and so paid £240 in total. Mr X wants a refund of £160.
- The Council has told me that in error it issued Mr X with a charge certificate which doubled the amount owing from £80 to £160. It has confirmed it is to refund £80 to Mr X as a matter of urgency.
- I recognise Mr X considers his refund should be £160 but having appealed the PCN to LT he essentially lost the right to pay it at the discounted amount, and as per the decision of LT on rejecting Mr X’s appeal, the full PCN amount of £160 was payable.
- We will not investigate as I am satisfied with the actions the Council has confirmed it will take, that is, to refund Mr X of his overpayment.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has taken satisfactory remedial action in this case.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman