Westminster City Council (24 016 766)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Jan 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice as Mr X had the right to appeal against it to an independent tribunal.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about a parking penalty charge notice (PCN) the Council issued to him when he had to park in an emergency. Mr X also complains about the cost structure of PCNs.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact 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 or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Parliament has provided an appeal process, ultimately to an independent tribunal, London Tribunals, which Mr X could have used to challenge the PCN. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to have followed this process. We are not another level of appeal and cannot rule as to whether the PCN was valid or not.
- PCN costs at the various stages of enforcement are set by law and not something the Council can vary. While Mr X is unhappy with this, it is not Council fault.
- For these reasons, we will not investigate.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect him to have appealed the PCN to London Tribunals. There is no fault by the Council in respect of the cost increases applicable to PCNs as these are set by law.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman