Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice as Mr X could reasonably have appealed against it to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council issued him with a penalty charge notice (PCN) despite him having bought a ticket to allow him to park. As such, Mr X seeks a refund of the money he has paid.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Parliament has provided a statutory appeal procedure which Mr X could have used to challenge the PCN, culminating in an appeal to an independent tribunal, the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to have done this and so we will not investigate.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he had a statutory appeal right against the PCN which he could have reasonably used.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman