The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice because the Council has offered a fair remedy.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, complains the Council ignored his appeal about a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) and he was forced to pay £195. Mr X wants a refund and compensation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact 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 Council has offered a fair remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes correspondence between Mr X and the Council. I considered our Assessment Code and invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.
My assessment
The Council issued Mr X with a PCN in September for stopping in a restricted area outside a school. The fine was £130 but this was reduced to £65 if paid promptly. A few days later Mr X challenged the fine and the Council acknowledged his email. Mr X explained he was forced to stop because a learner driver stopped in front of his car.
The Council made an error and failed to process the appeal. Instead the Council sent a charge certificate which increased the fine to £195. Mr X paid £195 and continued to pursue the matter because he had not had a response to his appeal.
In November the Council told Mr X it had cancelled the fine because it had failed to process his appeal. The Council issued a refund for £130. It also said it had issued the fine correctly because, while Mr X was forced to stop by the car in front, the images also showed that a passenger got out of Mr X’s car while it was stationary in front of the school no stopping sign.
The Council refunded the remaining £65 in February. It has also apologised and said it will introduce a manual check for emails which have been sent.
The Council made an error because it failed to process Mr X’s appeal. If it had responded Mr X would have had a chance to appeal to the tribunal. If he had lost the appeal he would have had to pay £130. If he had won, the tribunal would have cancelled the fine. I have looked at the images and they confirm that while Mr X was forced to stop, a passenger also got out of his car.
I will not start an investigation because the Council has offered a fair remedy. It has cancelled the PCN and made a full refund, even though it is not known what decision would have been made if Mr X had been able to appeal to the tribunal. The Council has also apologised and will introduce a new process to prevent similar problems happening again.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint because the Council has offered a fair remedy.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman