The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Fixed Penalty Notice issued by the Council for fly-tipping. This is because it is reasonable to have expected the complainant to have challenged the notice in court.
The complaint
Miss X complains that the Council incorrectly issued her with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for fly-tipping. Miss X says the Council had CCTV footage which shows she was not responsible for the offence.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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
If a council thinks a person has committed an offence, it can issue the person with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). If a person pays the fine, they accept liability for the offence and the matter is closed. If the person does not pay the fine, a council can take the person to court. The person can then raise a defence in court and the court will then decide if the person has committed the offence.
I will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. Miss X paid the fine and in doing so, accepted liability for the offence. If Miss X did not agree that the fine should have been issued to her, she could have waited for the Council to prosecute and raised a defence in court. Only a court can determine liability for an offence and order a Council to cancel a FPN.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is reasonable to have expected her to challenge the FPN in court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman