Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about 15 penalty charge notices issued by Transport for London as she has appealed against them. We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about Transport for London’s escalation of the cases as she has applied to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to challenge its actions.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, complains about the way Transport for London (TfL) escalated 15 penalty charge notices (PCNs) it issued her in 2019. She says the matter has caused her stress, anxiety and depression and she cannot afford to pay the amounts owed.

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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. We may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal but cannot investigate if the person has already appealed. (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. We may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court but cannot investigate if the person has already been to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I reviewed the information provided by Ms X and London Tribunals’ decisions on her appeals against the PCNs.

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What I found

7. TfL issued Ms X 15 PCNs in 2019 for moving traffic contraventions at several different locations within London.
8. Ms X made representations against the PCNs and, when TfL declined to cancel them, she appealed to London Tribunals. She says she did not receive London Tribunals’ decisions on her appeals and only became aware it had rejected them several months later. She continues to dispute the PCNs.
9. Ms X has recently spent three months abroad and did not receive TfL’s correspondence confirming its escalation of the cases. They are currently with its enforcement agents (bailiffs) to recover payment and they have added their own charges in addition to the PCNs themselves. The amount outstanding is more than £3,000 and Ms X says she cannot afford to pay. She says she has applied to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) to challenge TfL’s escalation of the cases but it refused her applications.
10. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. Any complaint about the PCNs themselves falls outside our jurisdiction as Ms X has appealed to London Tribunals. We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about TfL’s escalation of the cases as she has applied to the TEC to make late witness statements. The Ombudsman cannot look at the same points Ms X has put to the TEC and if she is not happy with the TEC’s decisions she would need to request a review.

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Final decision

11. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Ms X has appealed against the PCNs and applied to the TEC to challenge TfL’s escalation of the cases.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman