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 Mr Y to use his right of appeal.
The complaint
Mr Y complained the Council failed to respond to his appeal for a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). He says bailiffs then contacted him in March 2022 before clamping his car in April and charging £530 for its release. He also complained the Council failed to respond to his complaint about the lack of response.
Mr Y says this has caused him frustration and annoyance and the bailiffs costs were excessive.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended) 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) It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information Mr Y and the Council provided and Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council issued a PCN to Mr Y in June 2021. Mr Y says he appealed to the Council but did not receive a response, despite chasing one by telephone. Mr Y says bailiffs contacted him in March 2022. He says he contacted the Council to complain about the lack of response to his appeal at this point, but again did not receive a response. Mr Y says the bailiffs then clamped his vehicle in April and charged him £530 for its release. He complained to us in July.
Analysis Mr Y has a right to submit a statutory declaration to the Traffic Enforcement Centre, asking it to remove the charge certificate for the PCN. Mr Y can apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) to make a late statutory declaration. If the TEC accepts Mr Y’s application it can take the process back to an earlier stage, reducing the amount of the PCN and reinstating Mr Y’s right of appeal against it to the Council initially, to reissue the Notice of Rejection and then the London Tribunals. Mr Y can then decide if he wishes to appeal the PCN or pay the penalty. The TEC can also order the Council to refund him any fees incurred in the enforcement, including the bailiffs costs.
This is often free in the initial stages and reasonable adjustments can be made where necessary for access to the service.
Consequently, as Mr Y has not provided any other reason why he cannot, it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to use his right to appeal. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
As we will not consider the substantive issue, it is not a good use of public resources to consider how the Council dealt with Mr Y’s complaint so we will not investigate this.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect him to appeal to the TEC and then to the London Tribunals.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman