Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s escalation of a penalty charge notice. This is because it would be reasonable for Mrs X to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to reinstate her right of appeal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complains she did not receive a penalty charge notice (PCN) from the Council in 2021. She says she tried to appeal in response to the charge certificate but did not receive a response. The Council’s enforcement agents (bailiffs) are now pursuing her for more than £500 which she says she cannot afford.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’.
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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

5. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

The PCN process

6. There is a set procedure councils must follow when pursuing PCNs for moving traffic contraventions. When a council identifies a contravention it will issue a PCN to the owner/registered keeper by post. This will detail the amount of the fine and the motorist’s right of appeal, firstly to the council itself and then to a Tribunal. It is the owner/registered keeper of the vehicle who is liable for any PCNs, rather than the person who was driving the car at the time the contravention occurred.
7. The owner has 28 days from the date of the notice to pay the penalty charge or make representations against it. For the first 14 days after the PCN they may pay at a discounted rate of 50% of the full fine.
8. If the owner does not pay the PCN or challenge it, or if their representations are unsuccessful, the council may issue a charge certificate increasing the amount of the penalty charge by 50%. If the charge remains unpaid the council may then register the debt with the county court and serve an order for recovery, providing a basis for action by enforcement agents (bailiffs) to recover payment from the motorist.

Mrs X’s case

9. Mrs X did not receive the PCN so she did not have the opportunity to make representations against it. She contacted the Council when she received the charge certificate but the Council did not have to consider her representations as they were late.
10. Mrs X did not then pay the PCN and the Council was therefore entitled to instruct bailiffs to enforce the debt.
11. Councils are not required to send PCNs by registered post so it is unlikely we could show the Council was at fault for Mrs X not receiving the PCN. Mrs X may however apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court to make a late statutory declaration. If the TEC accepts Mrs X’s application it may order the Council to take the process back to an earlier stage, reducing the amount of the penalty charge and reinstating Mrs X’s right of appeal against it. If the TEC refuses Mrs X’s application she may apply for a review of its decision. While the TEC considers Mrs X’s application the Council and its bailiffs must put any further action on hold.
12. I have seen nothing to suggest it would not be reasonable for Mrs X to use the process and I will not therefore exercise my discretion to investigate the complaint.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Mrs X to apply to the TEC to make a late statutory declaration.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman