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 cancel the notice and refund Mrs X's payment and this provides a suitable remedy for the complaint.
The complaint
Mrs X complains Transport for London (TfL) issued her a penalty charge notice (PCN) for driving in the ultra-low emission zone without paying the charge. She says she paid the charge through her app but as it crashed while she was making the payment she contacted TfL to ask if her payment had gone through. By the time it responded Mrs X was outside of the permitted time to pay the charge, and TfL has refused to cancel the PCN. Mrs X has therefore paid the PCN at the discounted rate of £90 but believes TfL should refund her.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Authority.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Motorists ordinarily have a right to challenge PCNs by appealing to a Tribunal. However, in the case of PCNs issued for contraventions of the ultra-low emission zone the motorist cannot claim mitigation as Mrs X does here. Mrs X could not therefore have appealed to London Tribunals on the grounds she believed she had paid as it could only look at whether she actually did.
TfL confirms there is insufficient evidence to show if Mrs X’s payment did go through but it has now agreed to cancel the PCN and refund Mrs X. Mrs X should hear from TfL about this in due course.
TfL’s actions provide a suitable remedy for Mrs X and it is unlikely investigation would achieve anything more.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we could achieve anything more for Mrs X.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman