Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council failed to respond to his representations against 10 penalty charge notices. This is because Mr X has taken the matter to the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council failed to consider his representations against 10 penalty charge notices (PCNs). He says the cases have now been dismissed but he believes the Council should pay him compensation.

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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 could take the matter to court. We may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court but cannot investigate if the person has already been to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
4. The Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) is part of Northampton County Court. It considers applications from local authorities to pursue payment of unpaid PCNs and from motorists to challenge local authorities’ pursuit of unpaid PCNs.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

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.
7. The motorist 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 the motorist may pay at a discounted rate of 50% of the full fine.
8. If the motorist 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.
9. Mr X says he made representations against the PCNs but did not receive a response. He therefore applied to the TEC to challenge the Council’s escalation of the cases by making late witness statements. The TEC refused Mr X’s applications and Mr X applied for a review of its decisions.
10. Because Mr X has taken the matter to the TEC we cannot investigate or recommend a remedy for any complaint about the Council's handling of the PCNs. This is because the TEC has already considered the matter and provided a remedy for it. While the TEC could not provide Mr X with the compensation he wants, caselaw has confirmed this does not bring the complaint back within our jurisdiction.
11. If Mr X has any concerns about the Council’s handling of his case after the TEC’s decisions he would need to raise this with the Council before we could consider it as a new complaint.

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Final decision

12. We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Mr X has sought a remedy for the issue with the TEC and the complaint therefore falls outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman