Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to release his car from the car pound. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council wrongly removed and impounded his car due to a large number of unpaid penalty charge notices (PCNs) he says he is not responsible for. He is unhappy the Council refused to accept the documentation he provided as proof he owns the car and that it will not release the car to him. He believes the Council has stolen his car and broken the law.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

4. We are not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
5. I appreciate Mr X disagrees with the Council’s request for further information and believes he has provided sufficient information to prove he owns the car but the Council has explained the reasons it is not satisfied with the documentation and these are clear and rational. We could not therefore say it must accept it or that it should waive or reduce the amount of the fees it says are owed.
6. If Mr X believes the Council has broken the law and that he is entitled to compensation, he may wish to seek legal advice.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman