The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that he missed out on the chance of paying a discounted penalty charge notice as the alleged fault by the Council has not caused the injustice Mr X claims.
The complaint
Mr X complains he missed out on the chance of paying a discounted penalty charge notice (PCN) as the Council did not provide evidence he had requested in time. Mr X appealed against the PCN to London Tribunals but his appeal was rejected. Mr X seeks a refund of £65 ie half the amount of the PCN he paid.
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 the alleged 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
While Mr X was dissatisfied with the Council’s response to his initial contact about the PCN, Mr X had the choice at this point to either pay the discounted amount or continue to challenge the PCN. Mr X chose to do the latter. As such, I do not consider that any alleged fault by the Council caused the injustice Mr X claims and I cannot request that his right to pay the discounted PCN is re-instated.
For this reason, we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because any fault by the Council did not cause Mr X’s claimed injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman