Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to issue a Penalty Charge Notice. This is because Mr X has appealed to a tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s decision to issue him and others with Penalty Charge Notices.

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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 appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X complains the Council has unfairly issued Penalty Charge Notices to him and others and he wants the Ombudsman to decide whether they have been issued lawfully.
7. I will not investigate this complaint because Mr X has appealed to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. The issues Mr X raises form the basis for his appeal and the law prevents us from investigating this matter further.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has used his right to appeal to a tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman