Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a penalty charge notice. This is because Mrs X has applied to the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court to challenge the Council’s escalation of the case.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains she did not receive the Council’s correspondence about a penalty charge notice (PCN). She only became aware of the PCN when enforcement agents (bailiffs) visited her old address in January 2024, at which point she paid the fine. She then applied to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) to challenge the Council’s escalation of the case but the TEC refused her application.

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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 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 Mrs X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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Final decision

6. We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Mrs X has been to the TEC to challenge the Council’s escalation of the case. The exclusion set out at Paragraph 3 therefore applies and we have no power to overturn the TEC’s decision.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman