Mr R, who lives in the Bristol area, had been experiencing difficulties arranging an inspection of his vehicle by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) prior to registering it. After his vehicle was impounded by the police because it was not taxed (it could not be taxed unless it was registered), Mr R complained to DVLA. Mr R pursued his complaint through the three stages of DVLA’s internal complaints process, the third stage of which was a complaint to the Chief Executive. Unhappy with the responses he received, he then asked for his complaint to be referred to the fourth stage, DVLA’s Independent Complaints Assessor. The Chief Executive of DVLA refused his request, saying that they had handled his case appropriately. Mr R was not aware that the Chief Executive could do that and complained to the Ombudsman.

We partly upheld the complaint. We found that DVLA had been maladministrative in their handling of Mr R’s case. We also found that they should have allowed Mr R’s complaint to progress to the Independent Complaints Assessor.