The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the wrongful use of enforcement agents as we are satisfied with the actions the Council has proposed to remedy the matter.
The complaint
Mr X complains he was bullied and harassed by the Council’s enforcement agents after a debt he owed for penalty charge notices (PCNs) was wrongly passed to them. Mr X seeks a payment of £10000 in recognition of the stress this caused to him.
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 or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended) The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has acknowledged Mr X’s case was wrongly pursued by its enforcement agents (due to human error) as Mr X had a payment arrangement in place. It has also acknowledged delay in it resolving Mr X’s complaint. In recognition of this it has apologised to Mr X and offered him a payment of £850.
I am satisfied that this is a suitable remedy for Mr X’s complaint and we will not investigate as we could achieve no more for Mr X. Only the courts can decide if Mr X is entitled to damages of £10000 and it is open to Mr X to pursue such a case in court.
The courts are also best placed to respond if Mr X has outstanding concerns about the individual conduct of any enforcement agents. Section 9 of the Certification of Enforcement Agents Regulations 2014 provides that complaints about the fitness of a bailiff to hold a certificate should be submitted to the Country Court.
We will not investigate for these reasons.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are satisfied with the remedy offered by the Council and Mr X has the right to obtain the outcome he seeks via court action.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman