The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice. The complainant has appealed to a tribunal against the penalty charge notice.
The complaint
The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr B, has complained about a penalty charge notice issued to him by the Council in July 2020 for a parking contravention. He says the Council is wrong to continue taking recovery action against him.
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 investigate a complaint when someone has appealed to a statutory tribunal; we have no discretion in this. The courts have decided this restriction applies even if the appeal could not provide a remedy of all the claimed injustice. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr B and our Assessment Code. I have also seen the public register of appeals kept by London Tribunals.
My assessment
Mr B unsuccessfully appealed to London Tribunals in December 2020. The adjudicator directed Mr B to pay the penalty charge within 28 days of the hearing.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr B’s complaint because he has appealed to London Tribunals which is a statutory tribunal. The restriction I describe in paragraph 3 applies to any complain related to the penalty charge notice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman