The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice because Mr & Mrs Y can follow the statutory process and appeal to a tribunal. We are also unlikely to find fault and Mr and Mrs Y have not suffered significant injustice.
The complaint
Mr & Mrs Y complain that they were issued a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). They say this happened because of illegal signage on the road that they parked their car, and that the Council should not have allowed this.
Mr & Mrs Y say the Council did not follow the Equality Act in its handling of their complaint.
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 Traffic Penalty Tribunal considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for all areas of England outside London.
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr & Mrs Y, and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs Y was issued with a PCN in Spring 2025. Mr and Mrs Y complained to the Council about this, explaining illegal signage was on the road that they parked on. Mrs and Mrs Y say the Council should not have allowed the illegal signage to be placed. The signage included a right-facing arrow, with the word “parking”.
I do not consider there is any fault by the Council in relation to the signs being put up. It looked into Mr and Mrs Y’s concerns and said it had not authorised the illegal signage, which was placed by a third party. I also do not consider Mr and Mrs Y have suffered any significant injustice as the signs have now been removed.
If Mrs Y believes the PCN was wrongly issued she can appeal to a tribunal. I consider it reasonable for Mrs Y to use her right to appeal. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for all areas of England outside London. It is independent and has the power to cancel the PCN. The process is free to use and relatively straightforward.
Mr & Mrs Y say the Council did not follow the Equality Act in its handling of their complaint.
We cannot decide if an organisation has breached the Equality Act as this can only be done by the courts. But we can make decisions about whether or not an organisation has properly taken account of an individual’s rights in its treatment of them.
There is no evidence to suggest that the Council did not properly take account of Mr & Mrs Y’s rights in its treatment of them.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr & Mrs Y’s complaint because
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman