Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a penalty charge notice. This is because it would be reasonable for her to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to reinstate her right of appeal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complains the Council did not respond to her appeal against a penalty charge notice (PCN) and has now increased the amount owed to £120.

Back to top

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 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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

What I found

5. If a council believes a parking contravention has occurred it may issue a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). The PCN can be fixed to the vehicle, given to the driver, or sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle. This should be to the address where the vehicle is registered with the DVLA.
6. If the keeper does not pay the PCN the Council may send a Notice to Owner to the address where the vehicle is registered. The keeper can then either pay the charge or make formal representations against it. If the council rejects the motorist’s formal representations the motorist may appeal to London Tribunals.
7. 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.

Mrs X’s case

8. The Council issued Mrs X a PCN in 2018. It escalated the case through the process set out above and registered the unpaid PCN as a debt with the TEC.
9. When Mrs X received notification from the TEC she applied to challenge the process. The TEC accepted her application and cancelled the charge certificate and the basis for the Council’s recovery action, but the PCN itself remained valid.
10. The Council says it has not heard from Mrs X and the PCN remains unpaid. It therefore issued a second charge certificate and is in the process of registering the PCN with the TEC again. Mrs X says she made formal representations against the PCN and has evidence to show they were received in-time, but she has not received a response.
11. Mrs X is aware of the process for challenging the Council’s escalation of the PCN and it would be reasonable for her to use the process again. Once the Council has registered the unpaid PCN with the TEC she may apply to challenge its actions and reinstate her right of appeal. She may do this on the grounds she appealed and did not receive a response. If the TEC accepts her application she can then appeal against the PCN to London Tribunals.

Back to top

Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for her to apply to the TEC to reinstate her right of appeal.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman