The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice. This is because it is reasonable to expect Miss Y to appeal to the Tribunal.
The complaint
Miss Y complains the Council pursued a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) with bailiffs to an incorrect address. She says she paid the PCN as soon as she became aware of it, but feels it is unfair she had to pay the bailiffs costs when she did not receive the earlier correspondence.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended) London Tribunals (previously known as the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service) considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London.
How I considered this complaint
I considered the information Miss Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council issued a PCN to Miss Y in December 2019, shortly after she had changed address. Although Miss Y says she had updated her address with the DVLA, the Council used the previously address which it said the DVLA had still on its records. Consequently, Miss Y did not receive the PCN, Notice to Owner or any other correspondence the Council had sent. Miss Y says she only became aware of the PCN when her previous landlord gave her the letters in November 2021.
Miss Y says she immediately paid the fine in full and was then told she had to pay the bailiffs costs as well. She thinks this is unfair as she had not received the earlier correspondence. To avoid any court judgements for the unpaid debt, Miss Y reluctantly paid the bailiffs fees after borrowing money from family.
Miss Y complained to the Council, who responded in December It denied any fault, saying it had used details provided to it by the DVLA. Miss Y then approached us.
Analysis Miss Y has a right to approach the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) which is part of Northampton County Court to make a late witness statement. In the late witness statement Miss Y can explain her reasons for not having appealed the PCN or paid it earlier and her reasons for paying the fine and bailiff costs. It will then be for the TEC to decide if it will reinstate Miss Y’s right to appeal and if it will return her case back to the earlier stages of the process. This may provide her with the opportunity to either appeal or agree with the Council to pay the PCN at a lower amount, depending on the decision of the TEC.
If she wishes to appeal and is given leave to do so she can appeal to the London Tribunals. As Miss Y has agreed during our involvement to do this, I would consider it reasonable to expect her to follow the process outlined above to try to appeal the PCN. Consequently, we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss Y’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect Miss Y to appeal to the Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman