Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about two Penalty Charge Notices and the involvement of enforcement agents. This is because part of the complaint is late. For other matters, Miss X had appeal rights to a court that she could have used.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains, in May 2024, the Council issued two parking penalty charge notices (PCNs) while she was trying to successfully apply for a resident parking permit. She says the Council failed to respond to her subsequent appeals against the PCNs.
2. Miss X complains the Council passed the PCN to enforcement agents to recover the PCN. She says the enforcement agents clamped her car without warning and this meant she was forced to pay £750. Miss X says the experience significantly impacted her financially and emotionally. She says it caused her stress and distress.
3. Miss X complains the Council failed to communicate fairly with her and follow its own procedures.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
6. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
7. 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.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

10. Miss X complains about the Council’s handling of the original PCNs from May 2024, information it gave her while applying for a resident parking permit and the Council’s failure to reply to her appeals against the PCNs. This complaint is late. This is because Miss X did not complain to the Ombudsman until October 2025. Miss X could have complained to us much sooner if she wished for us to consider these issues. So, we will not investigate.
11. I recognise that Miss X is unhappy about the Council’s use of enforcement agents, which led to the agents clamping her car. However, if a PCN remains unpaid, the legal process of enforcement and recovery leads to this action. Miss X’s complaint does not indicate sufficient evidence of fault by the Council in this regard to justify investigating. So far as Miss X complains she did not receive any notice before the enforcement agents clamped her car, Miss X could have sent a late Witness Statement to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC). This is the procedure provided in law to challenge enforcement escalation of PCNs, including when the complainant says they did not receive the Notice to Owner or any notice of the enforcement action until their car was clamped. It is reasonable to expect Miss X to have made a late Witness Statement to the TEC. For these reasons, we will not investigate.
12. It is not a proportionate use of our limited resources to investigate the Council’s complaint handling and communication with Miss X alone when we are not investigating the substantive matters.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about two Penalty Charge Notices and the involvement of enforcement agents. This is because part of the complaint is late. For other matters, Miss X had appeal rights to a court that she could have used.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman