Transport for London (19 020 308)

Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 30 Mar 2020

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint that Transport for London delayed in issuing a penalty charge notice. This is because Mr X has appealed against the penalty charge notice to London Tribunals.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, Mr X, complains he did not receive a penalty charge notice (PCN) within the 14-day discounted period. As a result, he had to pay the full amount of £130. He also complains Transport for London (TfL) did not call him back when it promised to do so and failed to properly deal with his concerns.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
  2. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
  3. London Tribunals (previously known as the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service) considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London.

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I reviewed Mr X’s complaint and discussed the matter with him. I shared my draft decision with Mr X and considered his comments.

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What I found

  1. TfL issued Mr X a PCN for a moving traffic contravention in 2019. Mr X did not receive the PCN within the initial 14-day discounted period so when TfL rejected his representations against the PCN it told him the full amount of £130 was due. Mr X appealed against the PCN to London Tribunals but it refused his appeal and it confirmed the penalty charge at £130. Mr X then contacted TfL to ask that it accept his payment at the discounted rate but it declined. Mr X is unhappy with the way TfL dealt with his calls.
  2. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. Mr X has appealed against the PCN and the Adjudicator has confirmed Mr X must pay £130. While Mr X makes the point that London Tribunals did not consider the delay in him receiving the PCN and could not provide a remedy for this, the courts have previously decided this does not alter our position. They have also ruled that where we cannot investigate a complaint about the main or underlying issue, we cannot normally investigate related issues either. So we would not look at TfL’s handling of Mr X’s telephone calls as a separate matter.

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Final decision

  1. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Mr X has used his right of appeal to London Tribunals.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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