Manchester City Council (19 017 840)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 18 Mar 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice for a bus lane contravention. The complainant had a right of appeal to a tribunal
The complaint
- The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr B, has complained about a penalty charge notice issued by the Council in 2018 for a bus lane contravention. He says the Council has now changed the bus lane signage and so should refund him £30 which he previously paid.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. It says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered what Mr B said in his complaint and background information provided by the Council.
What I found
Background
- The Council enforces bus lane restrictions and takes recovery action using procedures set out in the Bus Lane Contraventions (Penalty Charges, Adjudication and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2005. These Regulations are made under Section 144 of the Transport Act 2000.
- The Council and motorists must follow these procedures although councils have discretion to stop enforcement or recovery action if it believes there are good reasons to do so.
Summary of events
- The Council issued a penalty charge notice to Mr B because it believed he owned a car driven in a bus lane during the hours of operation. This required Mr B to pay a penalty charge of £60, although the Council could accept £30 if Mr B paid with 14 days.
- Mr B decided to pay the discounted amount, rather than appeal, and the Council closed the case. He contacted the Council some months later after it altered signs near the bus lane and asked for a refund. The Council refused.
Analysis
- Mr B had a right of appeal against the penalty charge notice to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) which is a statutory tribunal. An appeal to the TPT is free and relatively easy to use. It is also the way in which Parliament expects people to contest a penalty charge notice. For these reasons, the restriction I describe in paragraph 2 would generally apply.
- If Mr B wanted to challenge the penalty charge notice, he should have appealed to the TPT at the time. An adjudicator could then have decided if the signage was correct and whether a contravention occurred. This is not a decision we can make.
Final decision
- I have decided we will not investigate this complaint. This is because Mr B had a right of appeal to the TPT which it was reasonable for him to use.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman