Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about Transport for London’s escalation of several penalty charge notices, which he did not receive. This is because Mr X has applied to the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court to consider the matter and it is for them to decide whether to cancel the surcharges and reinstate Mr X’s right of appeal against the penalty charge notices.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains about Transport for London’s (TfL’s) issue and handling of several penalty charge notices (PCNs). He disputes that the contraventions, which he suggests relate to non-payment of the congestion charge, occurred and says he did not find out about the PCNs until TfL’s enforcement agents (bailiffs) wrote to him about them, demanding payment of £1,000. Mr X believes TfL could have found his details or contacted him by email or telephone about the PCNs.

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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. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (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 authorities must follow when pursuing PCNs for moving traffic contraventions, such as those involved in this case. When an authority 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 authority itself and then to a Tribunal.
7. The authority will send the PCN to the address of the registered keeper as held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). The Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 require the owner of a vehicle to immediately inform the DVLA of any change of address. It is an offence under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 to use a vehicle where the correct address is not held by the DVLA.
8. 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.
9. If the motorist does not pay the PCN or challenge it, or if their representations are unsuccessful, the authority may issue a charge certificate increasing the amount of the penalty charge by 50%. If the charge remains unpaid the authority may then register the debt with the TEC and serve an order for recovery, providing a basis for action by their bailiffs to recover payment from the motorist.
10. Where the motorist did not receive the PCN, and regardless of whether this was the result of their failure to update the DVLA or an error by the authority, they may apply to the TEC to challenge the authority’s escalation of the case. If the TEC accepts an application it may order the authority to take the process back to an earlier stage, removing the basis for any surcharges or bailiff fees and reinstating the motorist’s right of appeal against the PCN itself. If it refuses the application the motorist may apply for a review of its decision.
11. TfL confirms Mr X has applied to the TEC to challenge its escalation of the case and it has opposed the application. It is now for the TEC to decide what action to take. Because Mr X has used the alternative remedy available to him we cannot investigate any complaint about the matter, as set out at Paragraph 3.
12. In any event, while Mr X believes TfL should have found his details or contacted him by telephone or email, there was no requirement for it to do so. It is therefore unlikely we would find fault by TfL.

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Final decision

13. We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Mr X has applied to the TEC to challenge TfL’s escalation of the case and we cannot therefore consider his complaint about the same issue.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman