London Borough of Newham (21 003 852)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 07 Jul 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a parking fine as Mrs X could reasonably have appealed against it to London Tribunals.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains about a parking fine the Council issued to her. Mrs X is unhappy the Council has not cancelled the fine after she explained about the health emergency that she was experiencing at the time.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council, and I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council responded to Mrs X’s explanation of why she left her car in the manner she did, but decided not to cancel the fine. The Council explained the next steps open to Mrs X including, ultimately, her right to appeal against the fine to the parking adjudicator at London Tribunals (the Tribunal).
- Mrs X paid the fine but now seeks to challenge the matter further. The Council has advised Mrs X the case is closed.
- The law provides an appeal to the Tribunal to enable motorists to challenge parking fines. It is reasonable to expect Mrs X to have made such an appeal and as such, as per paragraph two, the law says we cannot investigate. That Mrs X chose to pay the fine does not impact on this.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint as she could reasonably have appealed to the Tribunal against the fine and as such the complaint is out of our legal remit.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman