The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice for not paying the charge to enter the Birmingham Clean Air Zone. The injustice caused to the complainant does not justify our involvement.
The complaint
The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr B, has complained he could not pay the Clean Air Zone (CAZ) charge of £8. He had to pay a penalty charge of £60 and says the Council should refund the difference of £52.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr B and the Council. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr B says he received a reminder to pay the CAZ charge but could not make the payment of £8 using any of the Council’s systems. He eventually paid a penalty charge of £60 to stop the cost increasing. He complained to the Council and asked it to refund £52.
The Council says it discovered it had issued a batch of reminders without the barcode needed to make a payment. It also says it sent letters to those affected with the barcode and gave extra time to pay.
It is unfortunate the Council did not refer to this known issue when Mr B complained to it. It could have resolved the matter without Mr B needing to complain to us. However, the Council says it is making the refund.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because, while there may have been fault by the Council, any injustice caused to Mr B does not warrant our involvement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman