Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice because we are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complains that the Council discriminated against him when it issued a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) to him.
2. He says that this made him feel sad and unsafe. Mr X says the Council should accept it discriminated against him.

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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 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)
5. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for all areas of England outside London.
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

• There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

(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 Mr Y and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. Mr Y was issued a PCN in Spring 2025. He accepts that he parked his car in a restricted area.
10. Mr Y appealed the PCN to the Council, but this was rejected because no cause for cancellation was found. Mr Y then paid the PCN.
11. Mr Y could have chosen not to pay the PCN if he disagreed with the Council’s decision to reject his representations and appealed to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. I consider it would have been reasonable for Mr Y to use this right of appeal. The Tribunal is independent and has the power to cancel a PCN. The process is free to use and relatively straight forward.
12. Mr Y says that other cars were also parked in the restricted area, but that only he received a PCN. Mr Y feels he was discriminated against because of his Race.
13. Direct discrimination occurs when a person treats another less favourably than they treat or would treat others because of a protected characteristic.
14. The Council considered Mr Y’s concerns and confirmed that multiple car owners who parked within the restricted area were also issued with PCNs. It also explained to Mr Y that parking enforcement officers do not know the identity of a vehicle owner when issuing a PCN.
15. I acknowledge that this incident was upsetting for Mr Y but I have not seen sufficient evidence to suggest the Council discriminated against him when deciding to issue a PCN. We will not investigate this part of the complaint as there is not enough evidence of fault.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because we are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s actions. Mr Y had the right to appeal to a tribunal if he disagreed with the Council’s decision to issue the PCN.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman