Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s escalation of a penalty charge notice. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council. The Traffic Enforcement Centre is in any event better placed to deal with Mr X's concerns and to provide a remedy for the issue.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council did not do enough to make him aware of a penalty charge notice (PCN) for a bus lane contravention before registering the debt with the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court and instructing enforcement agents (bailiffs) to recover payment from him. He is also unhappy with the Council’s handling of his complaint.

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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 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, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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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

The process

4. There is a set procedure councils must follow when pursuing PCNs for bus lane contraventions. When a council identifies a contravention it will issue a PCN to the owner/registered keeper by post to the address held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). This will detail the amount of the fine and the motorist’s right of appeal, firstly to the council itself and then to a Tribunal.
5. The Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 require the owner of a vehicle to immediately inform the DVLA of any change of address. It is an offence under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 to use a vehicle where the correct address is not held by the DVLA.
6. When a council issues a PCN for a bus lane contravention the motorist has 28 days from the date of the notice to pay the penalty charge or make representations against it. For the first 14 days after the PCN the motorist may pay at a discounted rate of 50% of the full fine.
7. If the motorist does not pay the PCN or challenge it, or if their representations are unsuccessful, the council may issue a charge certificate increasing the amount of the penalty charge by 50%. If the charge remains unpaid the council may then register the debt with the TEC and serve an order for recovery, allowing its bailiffs to recover payment from the motorist.

Mr X’s case

8. The Council issued Mr X a PCN for a bus lane contravention in January 2023. Mr X did not receive the PCN because he had moved and was no longer living at the address registered with the DVLA. He only became aware of the PCN when the Council’s bailiffs contacted him by phone demanding payment. They later visited him at home and clamped his car, threatening to remove it if he did not pay the outstanding penalty charge, surcharges and fees totalling more than £400.
9. Mr X believes the Council should have done more to make him aware of the PCN before registering the case with the TEC but there was no requirement for it to do so. The Council followed the proper process and was entitled to instruct bailiffs to recover payment from him. The fact Mr X was unaware of the PCN sooner was entirely due to the fact Mr X did not update his address with the DVLA as required; it was not the result of any fault by the Council and we could not therefore recommend it revokes its registration of the PCN with the TEC. In any event, Mr X’s father has now paid the PCN and the debt is therefore settled.
10. If however Mr X wishes to challenge the Council’s escalation of the PCN he may apply to the TEC to make a late statutory declaration on the grounds he did not receive the PCN. If the TEC accepts Mr X’s application it may order the Council to take the case back to an earlier stage, removing the basis for any surcharges. We would then expect the Council’s bailiffs to refund part of Mr X’s payment. If the TEC refuses Mr X’s application Mr X may apply for a review of its decision.
11. The TEC does not need to show fault by the Council in order to accept an application to file a late statutory declaration. It is therefore reasonable to expect Mr X to use the process as it is more likely to achieve the outcome Mr X wants.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council and the TEC is better placed to deal with the issue.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman