Bristol City Council (21 007 651)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 04 Jan 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Penalty Charge Notices. This is because it is reasonable for Mr Y to appeal to the Traffic Enforcement Centre.
The complaint
- Mr Y complains the Council is wrongly pursuing him for several Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) after he repeatedly drove his taxi in a bus lane. Mr Y says he is now being pursued by enforcement agents and as a result he has been asked to leave the property he lives in by his landlord.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered the information Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr Y received several PCNs after driving in a bus lane in 2019. Mr Y says as a taxi driver he can usually drive in bus lanes unless there are signs to say he cannot. He complained to the Council, who agreed to cancel all but the first PCN as a gesture of goodwill. However, Mr Y says the Council failed to sufficiently inform him he could not drive in the bus lane and wants the Council to waive all the PCNs.
Analysis
- Mr Y’s challenge to the PCN is a matter for the appeals process. Mr Y can apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court to make a late witness statement. If the TEC accepts Mr Y’s application it can take the process back to an earlier stage, reducing the amount of the PCN and reinstating Mr Y’s right of appeal against it.
- I have seen nothing to suggest it would not be reasonable for Mr Y to use his right of appeal to the TEC. I will not therefore exercise the Ombudsman’s discretion to investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to use his right of appeal to the TEC.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman