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 apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to make a late witness statement.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains about a penalty charge notice (PCN) issued by the Council. He disputes the Council’s civil enforcement officer’s statement about how long his car was stationary and says he did not receive the Council’s correspondence about the PCN so could not appeal.

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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.
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I reviewed Mr X’s complaint, shared my draft decision with him and invited his comments.

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What I found

7. The Council issued Mr X a PCN for a parking contravention in 2019. Mr X disputes the PCN and says he did not receive the Council’s correspondence about it. The Council has now instructed enforcement agents (bailiffs) to recover payment from him.
8. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. Because Mr X did not receive the Council’s correspondence he may apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) to make a late witness statement. If the TEC accepts his application it can order the Council to take the process back to an earlier stage, reducing the amount of the PCN and reinstating Mr X’s right of appeal against it. The restriction at Paragraph 3 would then apply. If the TEC refuses Mr X’s application he may apply for a review of its decision.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to apply to the TEC to make a late witness statement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman