Summary: Mr X complained about the Council pursuing him for an unpaid moving traffic penalty. We should not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint. This is because it was reasonable for Mr X to appeal to the London Tribunals which is the proper authority to consider traffic penalty challenges.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council passing a traffic penalty to enforcement agents following rejection of his representations in 2020. He wants the Council to accept the reduced penalty charge which he has paid and either cancel the penalty or remove any outstanding costs.

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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. 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

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
6. The complainant now has an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I will consider their comments before making a final decision.

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My assessment

7. Mr X received a bus lane contravention penalty in 2020. He challenged the penalty within the discounted payment period but did not pay the penalty or submit an appeal to an Adjudicator the London Tribunals following the rejection of his challenge.
8. The Council served a charge certificate because of the non-payment and the total rose to £195. Mr X paid the discounted amount but refused to pay the remaining amount and costs. The Council advised him that if he did not make the full payment it would pass the case to enforcement agents which would incur additional costs.
9. Mr X says he was away from home during some of the lockdown period and the Council failed to respond to his emailed complaints about the procedure. Because the law sets out the procedure for dealing with challenges to penalty charges and it leads to an independent appeal, an enforcing authority will not usually deal with such matters through its complaints procedure.
10. The restriction outlined in paragraph 2 applies here because Mr X complains about a matter for which he had an opportunity to appeal to an independent tribunal and it was reasonable for him to do so.

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Final decision

11. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint. This is because it was reasonable for Mr X to appeal to the London Tribunals which is the proper authority to consider traffic penalty challenges.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman