Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a parking Penalty Charge Notice. It is reasonable for Ms X to use her statutory right of appeal to London Tribunals.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council issued her a parking Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), despite her having applied for the relevant permit. She said the Council had left the permit as awaiting approval without telling her it required additional information. She said the matter has caused distress and she has paid for permits she has not been allowed to use. She wanted the Council to cancel the PCN and make service improvements to its permit voucher portal.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

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

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My assessment

5. Ms X’s complaint is about a PCN the Council issued due to its claim she parked her vehicle without a valid permit. Ms X says she had applied for the relevant permit a month prior, and says she was not aware the Council had not approved the application. She has provided evidence to show that while she had paid, the application remained marked as pending approval. She says the voucher portal did not indicate any further information was required, and says the Council only told her this when she contacted it by telephone after the PCN had been issued.
6. London Tribunals is the independent tribunal that considers PCN appeals. Where someone has the right to appeal to a tribunal, we will normally not consider the matter. The tribunal process is free, relatively informal and simple to use, and the adjudicator’s decision is legally binding on both parties. We generally take the view that there would need to be an exceptional reason to exercise discretion to investigate. There is not a good reason in this case for us to consider the matter instead, and it is reasonable for Ms X to appeal to London Tribunals, likely on mitigating circumstances.
7. The tribunal will consider the PCN itself but will not provide the outcome Ms X seeks of changes to the Council’s portal system. I have considered whether we could consider that part of the complaint in isolation. However, Ms X’s concerns about the portal system are directly relevant to her appeal of the PCN, and as such are not separable. We cannot therefore consider her concerns about the portal in isolation and this is a matter she should raise with the tribunal.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is reasonable for her to use her statutory right of appeal to London Tribunals.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman