Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s enforcement of penalty charge notices because Ms X had a right to appeal to the tribunal which it would have been reasonable for her to have used.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council refused to cancel a penalty charge notice (PCN), leading to enforcement agents clamping her car. She said the agents pursued a debt for a vehicle she no longer owned, despite knowing she is vulnerable.
2. She says this situation has prevented her from driving her child to school, as required by their Education and Health Care (EHC) Plan, and caused her avoidable distress. She wants the Council to unclamp her car and provide staff training to better support vulnerable individuals.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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)
5. London Tribunals considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

The statutory process for Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs)

8. There is a set procedure councils must follow when pursuing PCNs for parking 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.

Ms X’s complaint

11. The Council issued two PCNs for parking offences on Ms X's vehicle. After Ms X made no payments or representations, the case was escalated to enforcement agents (EAs) to recover the debt. Ms X contacted the EAs to set up a payment plan, and mentioned her vulnerability. The EAs requested evidence and placed a 14-day hold on Ms X’s account, but as no evidence or payment was provided, they clamped her vehicle. However, the clamp was removed the same day after Ms X made a partial payment and agreed to a payment plan.
12. Three weeks later, the vehicle was clamped again due to further missed payments. Ownership checks revealed a change in the registered keeper. Ms X informed the Council she was entering an arrangement for formal debt repayment and stated that the vehicle was now under a hire purchase (HP) agreement, meaning it was no longer fully hers. The Council informed Ms X that EAs could still take control of HP vehicles if the customer had a substantial financial interest in the vehicle. When EAs visited, it found the clamps had been tampered with. They returned within 14 days, but the vehicle was no longer there.
13. Ms X complained the Council failed to consider her vulnerability and the fact that she no longer owned the vehicle. However, it was reasonable to expect Ms X to provide evidence supporting both points if she wanted them to be taken into account. Therefore, we will not investigate Ms X’s complaint as there is no good reason why Ms X could not have used her appeal rights with the tribunal and submitted the necessary documentation.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because she had a right of appeal to the tribunal and it would have been reasonable for her have used it.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman