London Borough of Waltham Forest (19 020 629)

Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties

Decision : Closed after initial enquiries

Decision date : 27 Mar 2020

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint about penalty charge notices because the complainant has appealed to a tribunal.

The complaint

  1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mrs B, has complained about how the Council dealt with penalty charge notices issued in relation to a vehicle she owns. She says the Council made it difficult for her to appeal against the penalty charge notices.

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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. It says we cannot investigate a complaint when someone has appealed to a tribunal; we have no discretion in this. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
  2. The courts have decided this restriction applies even if the appeal did not provide a remedy for all the claimed injustice.

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I have considered what Mrs B said in her complaint and the statutory register of appeals kept by London Tribunals.

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What I found

  1. Mrs B had a right of appeal against each penalty charge notice to London Tribunals and has exercised that right.

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Final decision

  1. We cannot investigate this complaint because Mrs B had appealed to a tribunal and the restriction I describe in paragraph 2 and 3 applies.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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