The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice because the Council has reviewed the matter and issued a refund to Mr B.
The complaint
Mr B complains the Council wrongly issued him with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for an alleged bus lane contravention. Mr B says he paid the £80 charge before he realised this PCN was wrongly issued because no contravention took place. Mr B says he then challenged this PCN but the Council wrongly said this PCN was correctly issued and refused his request for a refund.
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 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 B and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
If we investigated this complaint it is likely we would find the Council was at fault for issuing and defending this PCN because the information suggests no contravention took place. We therefore asked the Council to look at this PCN again.
Agreed action
To its credit the Council agreed to look at this PCN again. The Council accepts this PCN was issued in error. The Council says it will apologise to Mr B and has refunded the £80 he paid to cancel this PCN.
Final decision
We have upheld this complaint because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mr B.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman