The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice for a parking contravention as it is reasonable to expect Mr X to appeal against it using the statutory appeal process available to him.
The complaint
Mr X complains about a parking penalty charge notice (PCN) the Council has issued to him. Mr X has been caused upset by this and wants the PCN to be cancelled.
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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Parliament has provided a statutory appeal process which Mr X can follow to appeal against the PCN, ultimately to the independent parking adjudicators at the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT).
It is reasonable to expect Mr X to make such an appeal and we do not have the powers to cancel the PCN. For these reasons, we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect him to appeal against the PCN, to the TPT.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman