London Borough of Redbridge (23 001 109)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 17 May 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice. This is because it was reasonable for Mrs X to appeal to London Tribunals.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains that the Council wrongly issued her with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for an alleged parking contravention.
- Mrs X says she displayed her Blue Badge but one corner was slightly folded over. She says she is seriously ill and feels the Council has treated her unfairly. Mrs X would like the Council to refund the £100 paid.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The Act 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)
- London Tribunals (previously known as the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service) considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs X.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Parliament has laid down a detailed process allowing individuals the right to challenge receiving PCNs from the Council.
- Mrs X made formal representations to the Council after receiving a Notice to Owner. The Council rejected Mrs X’s formal representations, and it was open to her to put in an appeal to London Tribunals to challenge the PCN.
- I find it was reasonable for Mrs X to use this process to challenge the PCN. The tribunal is in the best position to decide if the PCN was correctly issued. It is not our role to provide an alternative right of appeal after Mrs X paid the charge. So, I will not investigate this complaint.
- Further, we do not investigate complaints about the complaint responses from the Council if we are not investigating the main issue. As this is not a good use of public money.
- And, we have no powers to compel the Council to refund £100 Mrs X has paid.
Final decision
- I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it was reasonable for her to appeal to London Tribunals.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman