The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice he received for an alleged parking contravention. This is because it is reasonable for Mr B to put in an appeal to London Tribunals.
The complaint
Mr B says the Council wrongly issued him with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for an alleged parking contravention. Mr B says there were not clear signs about the parking restrictions in place and the Council has ignored his evidence about this. Mr B would like the Council to: withdraw this PCN; put up adequate signs in this location; and, pay him compensation for his distress and time dealing with this matter.
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 Act 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.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr B.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has rejected Mr B’s informal representations in response to this PCN. Mr B may challenge this PCN further by waiting for the Council to send him a Notice to Owner. He may then put in formal representations to the Council. If the Council again rejects Mr B’s representations, he may put in an appeal to London Tribunals.
This is the process set out in law for a person to challenge a PCN and we generally expect it to be used.
The Tribunal is in the best position to decide whether a PCN was correctly issued including whether signage was sufficient to alert motorists to parking restrictions in place. The Tribunal is independent and the process is free and relatively straightforward.
I find it is reasonable for Mr B to use this process and if needed, put in an appeal to London Tribunals.
So, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to put in an appeal to London Tribunals.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman