Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s refusal to consider her representations against a penalty charge notice. This is because Miss X is not the owner of the vehicle and has no right in law to make representations against the notice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, complains the Council refused to consider her representations against a penalty charge notice (PCN) and her complaint about the matter.

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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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

4. The Council issued a PCN because it saw Miss X driving in a pedestrian zone. Miss X made representations against the PCN but because she does not own the vehicle the Council therefore refused to consider her representations. Miss X believes this is wrong.
5. The law says councils may serve PCNs for moving traffic contraventions on the person “appearing to them to be the owner of the vehicle” (Section 4(2)(a) London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003- “The Act”). The Act says a PCN must state “that the person on whom the notice is served may be entitled to make representations…” (Section 4(8)(a)(viii)) and that “a person on whom a penalty charge notice has been served under section 4… may make representations… to the enforcing authority.” (Schedule 1(1))
6. Miss X is not the owner of the vehicle and is not the person named on the PCN. She therefore has no right in law to make representations against the PCN.
7. Because of this we cannot say the Council was at fault for refusing to consider her representations. We also cannot say the Council must change its processes to allow third parties to make representations against PCNs as this would go against the provisions of The Act.
8. Miss X is also unhappy with the way the Council dealt with her complaint. But it is not a good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaints handling if we are not going to look at the substantive issue complained about. We will not therefore investigate this issue separately.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman