Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the authority’s misapplication of the Low Emission Zone charge to a vehicle which should have been exempt. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the authority charging her for a vehicle which was previously exempt for the Low Emission Zone but was re-registered and was charged for entering the zone when it remained an exempt class of vehicle. She challenged the charges for over two years before the authority accepted she should not have been charged.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

3. I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Authority.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X says the authority accepted that one of her vehicles was exempt from the Low Emission and Ultra Low emission zones in the capital. In 2021 she changed the registration plate to a personalised one but the vehicle’s emissions remained the same. The authority started charging her for the entry into the zones.
6. Mrs X challenged the charges with the authority in February 2022 but it insisted that the vehicle was non-compliant. Mrs X complained to us in September 2023 and when she was directed to complete the complaints procedure, the authority accepted that the vehicle was exempt and it should not have applied the charges. It told her the DVLA website on which it bases its charges had not been updated to include the new registration. It agreed to refund the payments but Mrs X believes it should pay the costs she incurred plus interest.
7. Mrs X was aware of the problem with being charged for her vehicle in early 2022 and challenged this. She did not complain to us until September 2023 which is outside the 12-month period for receiving complaints. The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wish to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or it issued its final response. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure was taking.

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Final decision

8. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the authority’s misapplication of the Low Emission Zone charge to a vehicle which should have been exempt. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman