Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a penalty charge notice issued by the Council. This is because it would be reasonable for him to appeal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains about a penalty charge notice (PCN) issued by the Council, which he disputes.

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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 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)
4. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for all areas of England outside London.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I reviewed Mr X’s complaint and the Council’s response to informal challenge to the PCN. I shared my draft decision with Mr X and invited his comments.

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What I found

6. The Council issued Mr X a PCN for a parking contravention in January 2020.
7. There is a set procedure councils must follow when pursuing PCNs for parking contraventions and handling appeals against them. When a council issues a PCN the motorist has 28 days to pay the penalty charge or appeal; appeals at this stage are known as ‘informal challenges’.
8. If the motorist submits an informal challenge to a PCN and the Council decides not to accept them, it will write to the motorist and explain why. If the motorist accepts the Council’s reasons they may pay the PCN; if not, they may wait for a ‘notice to owner’. This provides a further opportunity for the owner of the vehicle to pay the charge or make ‘formal representations’ against the PCN. If the council rejects the motorist’s formal representations the motorist may appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
9. Mr X disputes the PCN; he says he provided the Council evidence to show he was at work and had parked correctly but the Council refuses to accept it. He does not want to pay the PCN as he says he did not do anything wrong.
10. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. The validity of the PCN is a matter for the appeals process. Mr X has informally challenged it at the first stage of the process and if he is unhappy with the Council’s response he may wait for the notice to owner and make formal representations. If the Council refuses Mr X’s formal representations it would be reasonable for him to take the matter to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
11. I have seen nothing to suggest it would be not be reasonable for Mr X to use the appeals process available to him and I will not therefore exercise the Ombudsman’s discretion to investigate his complaint.

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Final decision

12. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to appeal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman