Birmingham City Council (23 010 118)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 24 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 Mr Y to appeal to the Traffic Enforcement Centre and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
The complaint
- Mr Y complained the Council issued a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) but Mr Y did not receive correspondence about the PCN for two years. Mr Y says there are now additional costs and he has not received a copy of the original PCN.
- Mr Y says this has caused him upset, worry and frustration.
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)
- 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)
- 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 Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr Y has a right to submit a statutory declaration to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC), asking it to remove the charge certificate for the PCN. 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 to the Council initially and then the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. Mr Y can then decide if he wishes to appeal the PCN or pay the penalty.
- This is often free in the initial stages and reasonable adjustments can be made where necessary for access to the service. Consequently, as Mr Y has not provided any other reason why he cannot, it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to use his right to appeal. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to appeal to the Traffic Enforcement Centre and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman