Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions relating to a Penalty Charge Notice. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons to consider it now.

The complaint

1. X complained the Council was at fault in the way it administered a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). They said it continued to send letters about the PCN to an old address, after the point they had updated the DVLA, with their correct address.
2. X also said the Council failed to pause enforcement activity, during appeal proceedings, which meant they wrongly received a visit by enforcement agents and faced a demand to pay outstanding fees.
3. X said the Council’s actions caused them distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. X complained to us about the Council’s actions, after the time they became aware of an outstanding PCN they were liable for. From the correspondence I have seen, X raised these concerns with the Council in May 2025.
7. I will not investigate X’s complaint. The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wished to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or the Council issued its final response. X did not complain to us until July 2026 and so this complaint is late. I have not seen any evidence of good reasons why it could not have been made to us within 12 months.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate X’s complaint because it is late and there are no good reasons why a complaint could not have been made sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman