The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice. This is because Transport for London has agreed to refund Mr X £270 and it is unlikely investigation would achieve anything more for him.
The complaint
Mr X complains Transport for London (TfL) gave him unclear and misleading information about the amount of two penalty charge notices (PCNs) following its rejection of his representations against the PCNs. He says that as a result he has paid £270 more than he should.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Authority.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
TfL considers the information it provided Mr X was clear about the amount he needed to pay and that the charges were incurred correctly. However it has now agreed to reduce the PCNs back to the discounted rate of £90 each and to refund Mr X the additional £270 he says he shouldn’t have paid.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because TfL’s agreement to refund Mr X £270 provides a suitable remedy for the issue and it is unlikely investigation would achieve anything more for Mr X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman