The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about a penalty charge notice issued by Transport for London. This is because Mr X had a right of appeal against the penalty charge notice and has applied to the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court to reinstate this right.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains about a penalty charge notice (PCN) issued by Transport for London (TfL).
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) London Tribunals considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London.
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. We may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court but cannot investigate if the person has already been to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended) The Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) is part of Northampton County Court. It considers applications from local authorities to pursue payment of unpaid PCNs and from motorists to challenge local authorities’ pursuit of unpaid PCNs.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
TfL issued Mr X a PCN for driving in the ultra-low emission zone without paying the charge in October 2023. Mr X did not receive the PCN because he was not living at the address the PCN was issued to but he says he paid the relevant charge at the time and claims the PCN was wrongly issued. He says he did not know about the PCN until 2024 and missed his opportunity to appeal against it.
Mr X applied to the TEC to make a late statutory declaration in July 2024. If the TEC had accepted his application it could have ordered TfL to take the process back to an earlier stage, reducing the amount owed and reinstating Mr X’s right of appeal against the PCN. But the TEC refused Mr X’s application.
Because Mr X has taken the matter to the TEC, which is part of Northampton County Court, the exclusion set out at Paragraph 5 applies. We cannot therefore investigate the complaint.
If Mr X disagrees with the TEC’s decision he may follow the process set out in its refusal letter to ask for a review. If the TEC overturns its decision and orders TfL to take the process back to an earlier stage it would then be reasonable for him to appeal against the PCN.
Final decision
We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Mr X had a right of appeal to London Tribunals and has applied to the TEC to reinstate this.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman