The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice as there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant our involvement.
The complaint
Mrs X complains she was given wrong advice about a penalty charge notice (PCN) for a parking contravention in a telephone call about it with the Council. Mrs X complains that as a result, she paid the PCN. Mrs X says she would have challenged the PCN, but for the wrong advice, and as such wants the Council to refund the money she 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has traced the call Mrs X made to it but says no notes were made of the call and the call recording is no longer available.
Without corroborating evidence, I cannot determine what was said in the telephone call or if the Council acted with fault. Without evidence of fault, we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman