Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about two penalty charge notices issued by Transport for London. This is because Mr X has used his right of appeal to London Tribunals.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains Transport for London (TfL) wrongly issued him two penalty charge notices (PCNs) for contraventions relating to a vehicle he does not own and has never owned.

Back to top

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. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. London Tribunals considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

Final decision

6. We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Mr X has used his right of appeal to London Tribunals. We cannot therefore investigate any complaint about TfL’s issue of the PCNs or its handling of his representations against them.
7. Mr X is also unhappy about TfL’s failure to respond to his complaint but the courts have said that where we cannot investigate a complaint about the main or underlying issue, we cannot normally investigate related issues either. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration in England [2006] EWHC 2847 (Admin)). We cannot thereore investigate this issue separately.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman