Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice because it is reasonable to expect Miss Y to approach the Traffic Enforcement Centre and the Traffic Penalty Tribunals.

The complaint

1. Miss Y complained that the Council wrongly issued a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) to her. Miss Y says this has caused her inconvenience and she does not wish to pay the penalty as she feels she was not at fault. She is seeking for the Council to cancel the PCN and apologise.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
3. 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)
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 there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (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 Miss Y and the Council provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Miss Y received a PCN, which she says should not have been issued by the Council. Miss Y has now, despite her complaint, missed the point at which she could make representations to the Council.
8. However, Miss Y has a right to submit a statutory declaration to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC), asking it to remove the charge certificate for the PCN which will have registered the penalty debt with the court. If the TEC accepts Mr Y’s application it can take the process back to an earlier stage, reducing the amount of the PCN and reinstating Miss Y’s right of appeal against it to the Council initially and then the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. Miss Y can then decide if she wishes to appeal the PCN or pay the penalty.
9. This is often free in the initial stages and reasonable adjustments can be made where necessary for access to the service. The process can often be done largely online. Consequently, as Miss Y has not provided any other reason why she cannot, it is reasonable to expect her to use this right to appeal. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
10. Further, the tribunal has the power itself to cancel the PCN if warranted. It is therefore better placed than the Ombudsman, who can only ask the Council to consider cancelling the PCN, to consider this complaint. We will therefore not investigate.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Miss Y’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect Miss Y to approach the Traffic Enforcement Centre and the Traffic Penalty Tribunals.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman