Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about congestion charges for a vehicle Mr X no longer owns/uses. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by Transport for London.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains Transport for London (TfL) has charged him for driving in the congestion charge zone despite him no longer leasing the vehicle to which the charges relate.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Mr X used to lease Vehicle 1 from a lease company. He added Vehicle 1’s registration number to his auto-pay account, which meant TfL charged him automatically every time he drove in the congestion charge zone.
5. Mr X then returned Vehicle 1 to the lease company and leased Vehicle 2. He added Vehicle 2’s registration number to his auto-pay account and TfL has charged him for driving Vehicle 2 in the congestion charge zone.
6. However, Mr X did not remove Vehicle 1 from his auto-pay account which meant TfL continued to charge him when the vehicle drove into the congestion charge zone. It is the charges relating to Vehicle 1 which Mr X now disputes.
7. Mr X has complained to TfL about these charges but TfL declined to cancel or waive them. It explained the terms and conditions for the auto-pay service require the user to provide accurate and up to date vehicle information and that because the charges have been made to Mr X’s account, it now has no way to recover payment from the new vehicle owner or to issue penalty charge notices (PCNs) for non-payment.
8. I appreciate Mr X is unhappy about having to pay the additional charges and says he cannot afford them, but there is not enough evidence of fault by TfL to warrant further investigation.
9. It is Mr X’s responsibility to ensure his auto-pay account is up to date and TfL cannot remove a vehicle from a user’s account without being asked or permitted to do so.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by TfL.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman