Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the conduct of a Council officer when issuing a Penalty Charge Notice. This is because an investigation is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome, and Mr X can appeal the Penalty Charge Notice to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the conduct of a Council Civil Enforcement Officer. Mr X said the officer acted unprofessionally when issuing him with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).
2. Mr X said the matter caused him distress.

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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 Traffic Penalty Tribunal considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for all areas of England outside London.
5. 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:

• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal; or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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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

8. Mr X was issued a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) by a Civil Enforcement Officer. Mr X recorded part of the exchange on his phone. Mr X complained to the Council and said the officer was unprofessional and rude.
9. In response, the Council considered Mr X’s video evidence but decided the actions of its officer were reasonable. It explained an issue with the officer’s recording equipment meant they were unable to record the exchange themselves. It explained this is now resolved, and the officer will be able to record interactions with the public in the future. The Council also told Mr X about his statutory appeal rights regarding the PCN.
10. An investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome, and so we will not investigate this complaint.
11. Furthermore, Mr X can ask the Council to review the PCN. This is called an “informal challenge”. If the Council upholds its decision, Mr X has a statutory right of appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. Consequently, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because an investigation is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome, and Mr X has a right to appeal the substantive matter to a Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman