The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions in relation to a Penalty Charge Notice. Mr X used his right to refer the matter to the Traffic Enforcement Centre. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate the peripheral matters, including the Council’s complaint-handling.
The complaint
Mr X complained the Council: failed to follow statutory procedures when it sent follow-up communication to the wrong address after issuing a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN); gave incorrect advice; provided misleading statements to the Traffic Enforcement Centre; and mishandled his complaint and ignored key issues.
Mr X said the matter caused him financial loss and distress, and meant he was denied the opportunity to pay or challenge his PCN before enforcement action commenced. He said he submitted unnecessary legal forms and went to significant inconvenience due to the Council’s errors. He wanted the Council to apologise, compensate him and make service improvements.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended) The courts have said we can decide not to investigate a complaint about any action by an organisation concerning a matter which the law says we cannot investigate. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council issued Mr X a PCN for a moving traffic offence. Mr X says the Council then sent follow-up communications to the wrong address. When enforcement action began, Mr X submitted a form to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to explain he had not received the Council’s communications. Mr X says he submitted the wrong form, due to incorrect advice from the Council.
Mr X then submitted a Statutory Declaration to the Traffic Enforcement Centre. The Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) is part of Northampton County Court. If Mr X’s submission is successful, this will have the effect of automatically revoking the order for recovery of the unpaid penalty charge and the charge certificate.
Where someone has used their right to refer a matter to court, we have no power to investigate the matter. We will also not normally investigate peripheral issues, such as how the Council handled communications about the matter. It is not a good use of public resources to do so.
There is not a good reason in this case for us to consider how the Council handled the matter and Mr X’s complaint about this, when we cannot investigate the substantive matter.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he used his right to refer the matter to the Traffic Enforcement Centre, and it is not a good use of public resources to investigate the peripheral matters.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman