Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a parking penalty charge notice as it is reasonable to expect Mr X to have appealed it to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council wrongly issued him with a parking penalty charge notice (PCN) despite him having displayed his blue badge. Mr X wants a refund of the fine he paid.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Parliament has provided an appeal mechanism by which Mr X could have challenged the PCN, ultimately to independent adjudicators at the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT). We are not another level of appeal and are not empowered to determine if the PCN was valid or not.
7. It is reasonable therefore to expect Mr X to have appealed and as such, we will not investigate. That Mr X chose to pay the fine at the discounted level does not impact on this decision.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he could reasonably have appealed the PCN to the TPT.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman