Horsham District Council (21 017 991)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 31 Mar 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council issuing him with penalty charge notices. Mr X had a right of appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for each ticket, and it would have been reasonable for him to use this.
The complaint
- Mr X complained the Council had issued him with numerous penalty charge notices (PCNs) while he was loading outside his place of work. Mr X says that he spoke to the Council and it would not withdraw the notices. Mr X says this made him feel harassed.
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)
- The Traffic Penalty Tribunal considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for all areas of England outside London.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says the Council issued him with several PCNs when he had parked his vehicle, outside his place of work. Mr X says on occasions this was while he was refitting the building and was loading.
- Mr X says he spoke to the enforcement officers, and they refused to withdraw the PCNs
- The Council has a two-stage appeal process and Mr X has a final right to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. It would have been reasonable for Mr X to use his right of appeal for each PCN within 28 days. There is no good reason for us to investigate this complaint instead.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaints about the Council issuing him with penalty charge notices. Mr X had a right of appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for each ticket and it would have been reasonable for him to use this.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman