The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a penalty charge notice as we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant seeks.
The complaint
Mr X complained delay by the Council in responding to his representations against a penalty charge notice (PCN) and ultimately cancelling the PCN caused him stress and upset. Mr X has asked the Council to compensate him for this but says he has received no reply. Mr X wants his complaint to us to result in an award of £500 compensation to him.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
I recognise that Mr X experienced stress and upset but this is essentially part and parcel of the experience of being issued with a PCN. Parliament has provided an appeal process to challenge PCNs but makes no provision, as such, for payments to recognise the stress someone involved in this process might experience. As such, we could not recommend an enforcing authority make a financial payment for the stress of having been issued with a PCN.
I appreciate that Mr X also complains of delay in the Council’s administration of the representations he made against the PCN. From our perspective though, the injustice caused to Mr X from any delay by the Council is not significant enough, as a separate matter, that is, over and above the unavoidable stress of having to deal with the PCN, to justify our further involvement, particularly bearing in mind the PCN was ultimately cancelled. This is not a complaint we would recommend a financial remedy for and investigation by us would be unlikely to change the outcome of the complaint.
For these reasons, we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient remaining injustice caused to him for us to recommend the Council make the financial payment Mr X seeks.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman