The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a parking penalty charge notice as Mr X could have appealed it to a tribunal.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council issued him with a parking penalty charge notice (PCN) when he was unloading his tools. Mr X wants the PCN to be cancelled.
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 normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council rejected Mr X’s appeal against the PCN and sent him a notice of rejection in 2023. Mr X could at this point have appealed to the independent parking adjudicators at London Tribunals. This is the statutory appeal procedure provided by Parliament and it is reasonable to expect Mr X to have followed it. We are not another level of appeal, and we are not empowered 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 have appealed the PCN to London Tribunals.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman