Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice issued by the Council. This is because it would have been reasonable for Mr X to appeal to London Tribunals.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that due to a system error, he bought a parking permit which incorrectly stated his postcode as the vehicle registration number. The Council then issued him four penalty charge notices (PCNs) for parking without a valid permit. The Council agreed to cancel one of the PCNs but refused to cancel the other three.

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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. London Tribunals considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The question of whether the Council should have cancelled the remaining PCNs is a matter for the appeals process. The Council rejected Mr X’s informal challenges against these PCNs but explained that if he wished to challenge further he could wait for the 'notice to owner’ (NTO) and make formal representations. If the Council rejected his formal representations Mr X would have been able to appeal to London Tribunals and due to the type of contravention concerned (parking), the Adjudicator could have considered Mr X’s claim of mitigation relating to the incorrect permit. I therefore consider it would have been reasonable for Mr X to use this process and to exercise his rights of appeal against the PCNs.
7. But Mr X chose instead to pay them at the discounted rate of £80 per PCN and he did this in the full knowledge that “If the PCN is paid in full before the NTO is issued, the case will be closed and there will no longer be a right to appeal further.”
8. While Mr X risked the cost of the penalty charges increasing if he appealed, this is not specific just to his case. The appeals process is set out in law and all motorists must make the same choice Mr X did. This does not provide good reason to exercise our discretion to investigate the complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would have been reasonable for Mr X to wait for the NTOs, make representations to the Council and appeal to London Tribunals.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman