The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a parking penalty charge notice as it is reasonable to expect the complainant to have followed the appeal procedure provided in law.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council issued him with a penalty charge notice (PCN) despite him having purchased a ticket to park. Mr X says the Council has ignored his complaints about this matter. Mr X is unhappy that the case has been passed to the Council's enforcement agents.
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) 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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Parliament has provided an appeal mechanism by which Mr X could have challenged the PCN, ultimately to independent adjudicators at the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT). There is no indication in Mr X’s complaint that he followed this route, but it is reasonable to expect him to have done so, and therefore, as per paragraph three, we will not investigate.
If Mr X did submit a formal challenge to the Council but is saying that it did not respond, then he can ask the court at the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) to consider his case, by submitting a witness statement to it. This is the additional procedure provided in law whereby motorists can challenge PCNs if something has gone wrong in the enforcement process. Again, if this is the situation, then it is reasonable to expect Mr X to follow the statutory procedure.
For these reasons, we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has/had the right to challenge the PCN via the TPT or the TEC.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman