Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Ms C’s complaint about how Transport for London cancelled Oyster Cards belonging to students at the university she works for. Ms C has complained to London Travelwatch which is dealing with the matter.

The complaint

1. Ms C complains Transport for London (TfL) wrongly cancelled Oyster cards belonging to students at the university she works for.

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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. I refer to this as ‘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 believe there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by Ms C and TfL

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What I found

4. Ms C complained to TfL that it had wrongly cancelled Oyster cards belonging to a group of students.
5. TfL say it cancelled the cards because the university wrongly completed the spreadsheet issued to confirm the student’s eligibility for the cards. It says it is therefore not at fault.
6. TfL has advised the Ombudsman that Ms C has complaint to London Travelwatch.
7. London Travelwatch is the official watchdog organisation representing the interests of transport users in and around London. Its official name is London Transport Users Committee. It is independent from the transport operators and deals with complaints about services operated or licenced by TfL. This includes Oyster Cards.
8. The Ombudsman cannot consider Ms C’s complaint as it is being considered by another body.

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Final decision

9. I cannot investigate this complaint. This is because it is being investigated by another body.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman