Transport for London (25 025 860)
Category : Transport and highways > Public transport
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 07 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the organisation working on behalf of the Authority acting negligently regarding a penalty charge Mr X received. The law prevents us from investigating matters that have been considered in court.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the organisation working on behalf of the Authority has acted negligently regarding a penalty charge he received. He said it has failed to follow the correct process. Mr X said this has impacted his mental wellbeing. He wants the organisation to respond to his appeal, apologise for the false information it provided to the courts and provide him with compensation.
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 cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of an Authority, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(1)(A) and 25(7), as amended).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Authority.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The organisation issued Mr X with a penalty fare because his Oyster card did not have enough credit for his journey. Mr X disputed the penalty fare and appealed. The organisation then began prosecution proceedings. The Authority later reconsidered the matter, waived the penalty fare and withdrew the prosecution.
- We cannot investigate the decision to start court proceedings or what happened in court. This means we have no power to consider the prosecution decision or any issues the court considered.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating matters that have been considered in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman