Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about a penalty charge notice issued by the Council. This is because it would be reasonable for Miss X to wait for the Council’s Order for Recovery and put the matter to the Traffic Enforcement Centre.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, complains about a penalty charge notice (PCN) issued by the Council. She says she did not receive the Council’s correspondence and lost her right of 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. London Tribunals (previously known as the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service) considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for 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 Miss X’s complaint, shared my draft decision with her and invited her comments.

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What I found

7. The Council issued Miss X three PCNs in June 2019.
8. 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’.
9. 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 London Tribunals.
10. If the motorist does not pay or make formal representations the council will issue a charge certificate, increasing the amount payable by 50%. It may then apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court to register the debt, before instructing enforcement agents (bailiffs) to recover it.
11. The Council cancelled one of the PCNs on a technical point and London Tribunals has allowed Miss X’s appeal on the second PCN, however the final PCN remains unpaid. Miss X says she did not receive the Council’s correspondence so could not appeal. The Council has told her to apply to the TEC to make a witness statement but the case is not yet registered so she cannot yet do this.
12. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. Miss X’s injustice lies in the outstanding PCN and once this is registered with the TEC she may make a witness statement to take the process back to an earlier stage.
13. Miss X should wait for the Council’s Order for Recovery and she may then complete a witness statement form and return to the TEC. She may do this on the basis she did not receive the notice to owner. If the TEC accepts Miss X’s statement it may reinstate her right of appeal against the PCN. The restriction at Paragraph 3 would then apply. If the TEC refuses Miss X’s application she may apply for a review.

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Final decision

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

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman