The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to issue a penalty charge notice. Mr X had a right of appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal and it would have been reasonable for him to use this.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council issued a penalty charge notice (PCN) to him while he was temporarily stopped unloading. Mr X says he spoke to the civil enforcement officer (CEO) who Mr X says used words that amounted to a racial slur. Mr X says this made him feel unsafe.
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) The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)).
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment Mr X says the Council issued him with a PCN while he was temporarily stopped unloading. Mr X says he should have been given some time to do this and when he spoke to the CEO, they spoke to him using words that Mr X took to be a racial slur.
The Council has a two stage appeal process and Mr X had a final right to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. It would have been reasonable for Mr to have used this right to appeal his PCN.
Mr X also complained the Council did not investigate his complaint of racism. The Council says it investigated and found no evidence this was the case.
The law says we should not investigate if we believe there is a better body placed to investigate. The Police are the more appropriate body to investigate allegations of racial harassment.
Final Decision
We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to issue a penalty charge notice. Mr X had a right of appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal and it would have been reasonable for him to use this.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman