The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision on who to pursue a Penalty Charge Notice against because there is insufficient evidence of fault and no direct injustice.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council have sent a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) to his company and have failed transfer the matter to him so he can deal with it. He says this prevented him appealing and caused him to have to pay a greater charge.
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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X uses a company car, which is leased. The Council sent a PCN to the company following a moving traffic contravention.
The Council must issue a PCN to the registered keeper of the vehicle. As the lessee is Mr X’s company, it is the registered keeper of the vehicle.
Mr X may believe other people have successfully transferred a PCN to themselves as the driver. The Council should deal with the registered keeper. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating this complaint, as Mr X is not the registered keeper.
Mr X reports having to pay the penalty charge. However, the Council dealt with Mr X’s employer, not Mr X, about payment. There is no direct relationship between Mr X and the Council regarding payment. Although Mr X’s employer may be seeking reimbursement this is between him and his employer. The Council has caused no direct injustice to Mr X.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and no direct injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman