The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Authority’s failure to issue a congestion charge refund. The Authority has since apologised for the delay and issued a refund to Mr X. There is nothing more we could achieve for Mr X by investigating further.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Authority has failed to issue him a refund for congestion charges for a three-month period at the end of 2025. Mr X has repeatedly chased and complained to the Authority about the delay to no avail. This has caused him inconvenience, frustration and unnecessary stress. He wants the Authority to issue the refund and apologise for the delay.
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 the complainant and the Authority.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Since Mr X made his complaint to us, the Authority has contacted Mr X to apologise for the delay in responding to his complaints and for its poor communication. The Authority has confirmed it has now issued a refund of the congestion charge to Mr X.
We will not investigate because there is nothing further we could achieve for Mr X by doing so. The Authority has now given Mr X the outcomes he was seeking by coming to us.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is nothing more we could achieve by investigating further.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman