Westmorland and Furness Council (25 006 735)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Aug 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about two Penalty Charge Notices because the complainant appealed to the tribunal.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, says it was not his fault that he received two Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) because the Council delayed issuing a new parking permit. Mr X wants the Council to cancel the PCNs and pay compensation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
- The Traffic Penalty Tribunal considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for all areas of England outside London.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the tribunal decisions. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In 2023 the Council issued two PCNs for parking without a valid parking permit. Mr X says he did not have a permit due to delays by the Council in issuing a new permit. Mr X says it is not his fault that he received the PCNs.
- Mr X appealed to the tribunal about both PCNs and explained about the permit problem. In 2024 he lost the appeals and the tribunal directed him to pay both fines within 28 days. Mr X did not pay and the PCNs are now with bailiffs.
- The law says we cannot investigate any matter which has been the subject of any appeal to the tribunal. Mr X appealed to the tribunal which means we have no power to start an investigation. This restriction applies even though Mr X lost the appeals.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate this complaint because Mr X appealed to the tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman