Transport for London (23 010 089)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 23 Oct 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice because it is reasonable to expect Miss Y to appeal to the London Tribunals.
The complaint
- Miss Y complained the Authority unlawfully issued her with twoPenalty Charge Notices (PCNs).
- Miss Y says this means she is now expected to pay a penalty which has unlawfully been charged.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal about the same matter. 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 considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information Miss Y and the Authority and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Authority issued two PCNs to Miss Y after she drove in the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) without paying the daily charge. Miss Y says the ULEZ charges are unlawful, and she should not be charged for driving in the area. She considers the PCNs to therefore be unlawful and illegal. She made representations to the Authority, but the Authority sent her a Notice of Rejection of the representations on 12 October. Miss Y then approached us.
Analysis
- Miss Y has the right to appeal to the London Tribunals. She can do this within 28 days of the Notice of Rejection from the Authority. This will end shortly. As this is free initially, is the prescribed legal route to challenge the PCNs and reasonable adjustments can be made if needed, so we would consider this reasonable to expect Miss Y to do. We will therefore not investigate.
- If Miss Y misses this deadline however, she may need to approach the Traffic Enforcement Centre based at Northampton County Court to ask it accept an application from her to reinstate her right to appeal to the London Tribunals, which cannot be guaranteed.
- As Miss Y has a right of appeal to the London Tribunals, and it is reasonable to expect her to use this right, we will not investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss Y’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect Miss Y to appeal to the London Tribunals.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman