Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about a penalty charge notice. This is because it would be reasonable to Miss X to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, complains about a penalty charge notice (PCN) issued by the Council. She says the PCN caused her shock and stress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for all areas of England outside London.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I reviewed Miss X’s complaint, shared my draft decision with her and invited her comments.

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What I found

5. The Council issued Miss X a PCN for parking in a restricted street during prescribed hours in September 2020. Miss X accepts she parked in a restricted street but says she had good reasons to do so.
6. 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’.
7. 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 the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
8. Miss X suggests she has informally challenged the PCN but the Council has not cancelled it. If she is unhappy with the Council’s response to her challenge she may appeal under the process set out above. I have seen nothing to suggest it is unreasonable to expect Miss X to use her right of appeal and I will not therefore exercise the Ombudsman’s discretion to investigate her complaint.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Miss X to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman