Worthing Borough Council (19 019 239)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 21 Mar 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a penalty charge notice issued by the Council. This is because it would have been reasonable for Mr X to appeal.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, complains about a penalty charge notice (PCN) issued by the Council.
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 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)
- The Traffic Penalty Tribunal considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for all areas of England outside London.
How I considered this complaint
- I reviewed Mr X’s complaint, shared my draft decision with him and invited his comments.
What I found
- The Council issued Mr X a PCN for a parking contravention in October 2019.
- 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’.
- 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.
- Mr X says he challenged the PCN with the Council but the Council refused his challenge. He says the Council did not properly consider his evidence.
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. If Mr X disputes the PCN and is unhappy with the Council’s decision not to cancel it, it would have been reasonable for him to appeal. The appeals process is free and relatively easy to follow and it is the appropriate way to challenge PCNs.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would have been reasonable for him to appeal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman