The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Penalty Charge Notices. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
The complaint
Miss Y complains the Council wrongly issued three Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) to her. Miss Y feels it is unfair and says she should have received a warning before being issued with a PCN.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information Miss Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council issued three PCNs in December 2021 after Miss Y drove her car on a road which was not for use by motor vehicles on three occasions. Miss Y accepts the reasons for the PCN being issued, but feels she should have been given a warning first, before any of the PCNs were issued. She appealed on this basis to the Council, who rejected her appeal for each PCN in January 2022. She then paid £65 for each PCN as she did not want to risk the amount increasing if she continued to appeal. Miss Y then approached us in January.
Analysis In paying the PCNs, Miss Y accepted her liability for the fine. While she may have preferred to be warned before the PCNs were issued, the Council is not required to do this, particularly in an area where Miss Y says the signs have been in place for over a year. Consequently, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss Y’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman