Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint that Transport for London sent correspondence about a penalty charge notice to the wrong address. This is because Ms X has put the matter to the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, complains Transport for London (TfL) sent its correspondence about a penalty charge notice (PCN) to the wrong address. She was unaware of the PCN until TfL instructed enforcement agents (bailiffs) to recover payment from her and she paid them £323 to clear the debt.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I reviewed Ms X’s complaint and her supporting evidence.

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What I found

5. TfL issued Ms X a PCN for a congestion charge contravention in June 2019.
6. There is a set procedure authorities must follow when pursuing PCNs for moving traffic contraventions. When they identify a contravention they will issue a PCN to the owner/registered keeper by post. This will detail the amount of the fine and the motorist’s right of appeal, firstly to the council itself and then to a Tribunal.
7. The motorist has 28 days from the date of the notice to pay the penalty charge or make representations against it. For the first 14 days after the PCN the motorist may pay at a discounted rate of 50% of the full fine.
8. If the motorist does not pay the PCN or challenge it, or if their representations are unsuccessful, the authority may issue a charge certificate increasing the amount of the penalty charge by 50%. If the charge remains unpaid they may then register the debt with the county court and serve an order for recovery, providing a basis for action by bailiffs to recover payment from the motorist.
9. Ms X says she did not receive TfL’s correspondence as the DVLA provided it with an incorrect address. She only became aware of the PCN after TfL passed the matter to bailiffs. Once she knew about the PCN she paid it immediately. But she believes TfL should refund part of her payment as she did not receive its correspondence. She also says TfL should have notified her when registering for ‘auto-pay’ that there was an outstanding PCN against her vehicle.
10. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. Ms X has applied to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court to challenge TfL’s escalation of the case and the Ombudsman cannot consider the same issue she put to the TEC. If Ms X is unhappy with the TEC’s decision she would need to follow the process to request a review.
11. There is no requirement for TfL to notify motorists of outstanding PCNs when registering for autopay so the fact it did not do in this case is not fault.

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Final decision

12. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Ms X has applied to the TEC to make a late statutory declaration.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman