Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about a penalty charge notice. This is because Miss X had a right of appeal against the penalty charge notice and it would be reasonable for her to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court to reinstate this right.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, complains about a penalty charge notice (PCN) issued by the Council. She disputes the PCN and says the Council failed to respond to her representations against it. The Council has now passed the case to its enforcement agents (bailiffs) who have attended her property and demanded payment of almost £500.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review 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 use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. London Tribunals considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London.
5. 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)
6. The Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) is part of Northampton County Court. It considers applications from local authorities to pursue payment of unpaid PCNs and from motorists to challenge local authorities’ pursuit of unpaid PCNs.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

The PCN process

8. There is a set procedure councils must follow when pursuing PCNs for parking contraventions and handling appeals against them. When a council issues a PCN the motorist has 28 days to pay the penalty charge or appeal; appeals at this stage are known as ‘informal challenges’.
9. If the motorist submits an informal challenge to a PCN and the Council decides not to accept them, it will write to the motorist and explain why. If the motorist accepts the Council’s reasons they may pay the PCN; if not, they may wait for a ‘notice to owner’. This provides a further opportunity for the owner of the vehicle to pay the charge or make ‘formal representations’ against the PCN. If the council rejects the motorist’s formal representations the motorist may appeal to London Tribunals.
10. If the motorist does not pay or make formal representations the council will issue a charge certificate, increasing the amount payable by 50%. It may then apply to the TEC to register the debt, before instructing bailiffs to recover it.

Miss X’s case

11. Miss X disputes the PCN as she says she parked her car legally but it is not for us to decide if the Council properly issued the PCN; this is a matter for the appeals process.
12. Miss X informally challenged the PCN but the Council refused her challenge. She then made representations in response to the notice to owner but says she did not receive a response. The Council has now escalated the case and passed it to bailiffs to recover payment from Miss X.
13. Where a motorist claims a council has not followed the proper process in escalating a PCN, including where they say they made representations but did not receive a response, they may make a witness statement to the TEC to challenge the registration of the debt. It is unclear why Miss X did not do this when the Council first notified her of the registration but she may apply to the TEC to make the statement ‘out of time’ now.
14. I have seen no good reasons why Miss X should not follow the process and I therefore consider it would be reasonable for her to apply to the TEC to make a late witness statement. If the TEC accepts Miss X’s application it may take the process back to an earlier stage, reinstating her right of appeal. If the TEC refuses Miss X’s application she may ask for a review of its decision.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Miss X to apply to the TEC to make a late witness statement. If successful, she may then appeal against the PCN.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman