The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council pursuing recovery action for an unpaid penalty charge notice when the complainant had a ‘breathing space’ agreement in place. The Council proposed satisfactory action to address the complaint, in accordance with the complainant’s desired outcome.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the Council pursuing enforcement action for an unpaid penalty charge notice (PCN), whilst he was under a ‘breathing space’ agreement (also known as a debt respite scheme).
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We can 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. So, we may decide not to start an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council, which included an update from the Council on the status of enforcement case.
I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
In response to our enquiries, the Council provided a copy of a letter it sent to Mr X in July 2025, after he had contacted the Mayor for assistance. This confirmed a system glitch had caused the PCN to escalate to an enforcement agent, with associated costs/charges being added. The Council offered to reduce the PCN amount back to £130, with the associated costs also being removed.
This is the outcome Mr X was seeking when he complained to the Ombudsman, and, with reference to paragraph 2 above, we would regard this as a satisfactory way to address the complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because his desired outcome has been offered by the Council, and this is a satisfactory way to resolve the complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman