Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about a Parking Charge Notice and enforcement action. This is because she pursued a court remedy.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council did not send a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) to her correct address. She said she was unable to respond and only became aware of the PCN when she received a debt letter.
2. Mrs X said after having the enforcement action revoked through court, the Council failed to stop enforcement. She said this caused her distress. She wants a goodwill payment and the Council to provide a full response to her complaint.

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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 courts have said that where someone has sought a remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law, we cannot investigate. This is the case even if the appeal did not or could not provide a complete remedy for all the injustice claimed. (R v The Commissioner for Local Administration ex parte PH (1999) EHCA Civ 916)
5. The Traffic Enforcement Centre (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.
6. 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by the complainant.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. When a Council issues a PCN the motorist has 28 days to pay the penalty charge or appeal. If the motorist does not pay or make formal representations, the Council will issue a charge certificate and may then apply to the TEC to register the debt. The Council may then instruct enforcement agents to recover the debt.
10. The Council issued a PCN against Mrs X in September 2023 and sent statutory notices to her previous address. Mrs X complained the PCN was not sent to her current address and as a result, she was not aware of it until she received a notice of enforcement in August 2024.
11. When Mrs X became aware of the PCN she submitted a late witness statement to the TEC which granted the out of time application and revoked the order of recovery. Mrs X has used a court remedy and therefore we cannot investigate this complaint.
12. Mrs X said after the TEC revoked the PCN, the Council continued enforcement action. In its complaint response the Council said it did not inform the Enforcement Agency that it had cancelled the debt, which was an error. The Council gave feedback to the relevant team to ensure the Enforcement Agency is properly updated and informed the senior management. The Council identified a service improvement to prevent recurrence of the issue. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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Final decision

13. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she pursued a court remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman