The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that Transport for London failed to fully refund Mr X’s private driver hire licence. That is because it has agreed to a full refund therefore further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
Mr X complained that Transport for London (TfL) reused to refund his full private driver hire licence application fee after he contacted it and said he wanted to withdraw his application.
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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Authority.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X initially applied for a private driver hire licence in March 2020. He experienced delays with TfL processing that application and complained to the Ombudsman. We found fault and issued a final decision on that complaint in September 2021.
Mr X complained further to the Ombudsman in March 2022. He said that he had decided to withdraw his application but TfL would only part-refund his initial application fee.
During our enquiries, TfL confirmed Mr X had paid an overall fee of £310. It said it had already refunded £186, however agreed to refund the remaining £124. As TfL has agreed to fully refund Mr X’s application fee, we will not investigate this complaint further. That is because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome and there is no outstanding injustice.
Agreed action
Within one month of our final decision, Transport for London has agreed to refund Mr X the remaining £124 of his application fee.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman