Summary: We will not investigate Mr C’s complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice he received for an alleged parking contravention. This is because it was reasonable for Mr C to put in an appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mr C complains the Council wrongly issued him with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for an alleged parking contravention. Mr C says there was a sign missing from the location where he parked and the Council wrongly relied on signs in other locations when it refused his representations. Mr C also says the Council was not clear when it told him the time limit for appealing to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

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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. 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.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr C and information on the Traffic Penalty Tribunal website.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Once the Council rejected Mr C’s representations in response to this PCN, Mr C had a right of appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. This is the process to challenge a PCN and we generally expect it to be used. The Tribunal is independent of the Council and has the power to cancel a PCN.
8. I find it was reasonable for Mr C to put in an appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. The Council told Mr C about this right of appeal when it rejected his representations.
9. Mr C says he missed the time limit to appeal to the Tribunal because he thought he had 28 working days to appeal rather than 28 calendar days. Mr C says the Council did not say the time limit was 28 calendar days.
10. The Council’s rejection letter told Mr C he needed to appeal within 28 days. This wording is in line with information on the Traffic Penalty Tribunal website. This is not evidence of fault.
11. So, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr C’s complaint because it was reasonable for him to put in an appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman