Ealing Council: slow = unfair

Mr Mustard is in the habit, when he sees something wrong, of checking if it is a one off problem or more widespread. Thus came about the above enquiry.

The answer was a huge number of PCN processing events in which the gap between two stages, which can be as little as 14 days has taken a year or more, sometimes four years.

 

 

So having been sent a Charge Certificate which notifies an increase in the PCN value of 50% (not exactly the Valentine's day card that you might like to receive) on 14 February 2018 Ealing Council then sat on their hands until 9 December 2022.

Councils endowed with penal powers have obligations. One as pronounced by Lord Mustill is to act 'in a manner which is fair in all the circumstances' which has been interpreted as acting with reasonable expedition i.e. get on with it.

Clearly Ealing Council have not done so in 19,876 cases.

Why does it matter you ask?

It matters because people move. If the council chase you about a PCN and you don't hear about it for a year you might well throw the paperwork away having not unreasonably assumed that the council has decided not to pursue you any further, it not being the case that a council has to put every PCN through the whole process all the way to the bailiff.

In London people are changing address all the time and no-one is going to think to tell a council that they moved when they haven't heard from them for a year.

The Order for Recovery if not responded to then leads on to a bailiff being instructed three weeks later, or maybe a year and three weeks given how haphazard Ealing Council have been.

Old PCNs should be written off, not chased at addresses which could well be out of date.

The end.