The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of enforcement action for a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). This is because there is not enough evidence of fault, in how the Council made its decision, to justify an investigation.
The complaint
Ms X complained the Council did not act after she told it about her vulnerabilities during the time an enforcement agency was recovering a debt. She was also unhappy her proposed repayment plan was declined and enforcement visits continued. Ms X said this caused her distress and anxiety.
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 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating/ (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
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 followed the PCN statutory process and passed a debt Ms X owed to enforcement agents in June 2025. During the compliance stage, enforcement agents contacted Ms X. After this Ms X contacted the agency with a repayment offer. In late July, the agency declined the offer because it would take too long to repay the debt.
Ms X said she informed the enforcement agent about her vulnerability and set out why she saw this as being the case. The evidence shows the enforcement agency referred her case to its welfare team. It recorded her circumstances and the Council paused enforcement during complaint handling to allow it to investigate. The law does not require enforcement agents to stop action solely because someone is vulnerable; rather, they must take it into account and offer an opportunity for advice and support. The records indicate it did so.
In any case, Ms X seeks outcomes the Ombudsman cannot achieve, including cessation of enforcement activity, acceptance of her payment plan and withdrawal of the case. We could not direct the Council to do any of these things.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault, in how the Council made its decision, to justify an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman