Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s pursuit of payment for a penalty charge notice. This is because the Council confirms it has withdrawn the penalty charge notice and this provides a suitable remedy for the complaint.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council pursed him for payment of a penalty charge by writing to his parents’ property despite him accepting its offer to pay the clean air zone (CAZ) charge instead. He says the Council’s correspondence and that of its enforcement agents (bailiffs) have worried and scared his parents and caused him distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X successfully challenged the Council’s escalation of the penalty charge notice (PCN) with the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) in 2022 on the grounds he did not receive the PCN.
6. The Council wrote to Mr X at the address provided on the form he submitted to the TEC (which was his parents’ address) and offered him an opportunity to pay the daily CAZ charge, which was £8, rather than the penalty charge of £120. Its letter explained that to accept the offer Mr X would have to pay the CAZ charge within seven days and that if he did not, the penalty charge would become payable.
7. The letter stated:

“HOW TO PAY THE DAILY CAZ CHARGE WITHIN THE NEXT 7 DAYS:

Payment of the CAZ Charge can only be made at any PayPoint outlet or Post Office.”

8. Mr X paid the CAZ charge but he did not follow the instructions to pay at a PayPoint outlet or Post Office. Instead he paid online via the gov.uk website. The Council was therefore unaware of the payment and escalated the PCN before instructing bailiffs to recover payment from Mr X at his parents’ house.
9. Mr X says he suffered some distress in finding out the Council was pursuing him for payment of a PCN when he had already paid the CAZ charge. He also says his parents were affected by correspondence from the Council’s bailiffs. But the Council confirms it has withdrawn the reissued PCN and this provides a suitable remedy for the complaint. It is therefore unlikely investigation would achieve anything more for Mr X.
10. Mr X is also unhappy with the way the Council dealt with his complaint. But it is not a good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaints handling if we are not going to look at the substantive issue complained about. We will not therefore investigate this issue separately.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council has now withdrawn the PCN and this provides a suitable remedy for the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman