Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the adequacy of the Council’s signs warning of a red-route restriction. This is because Mr X’s injustice stems from a penalty charge notice issued by the Council and he has used his right of appeal to challenge this.

The complaint

1. Mr X received a penalty charge notice (PCN) for stopping on a red route clearway. Mr X says there was no clear signage to warn of the restriction. He says he can no longer drive in the area due to fear of unfair penalties. Mr X wants us to consider whether the Council failed in its duty to ensure signage was visible. He wants the Council to make service improvements and to cancel the PCN he received and consider doing the same for PCNs issued to others in the same period.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
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. We may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right but cannot investigate if they have already used it. (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.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. I appreciate Mr X’s complaint is about the Council’s signage, rather than the PCN itself, but the law requires any person complaining to us to claim an injustice, or to be complaining on behalf of someone who has suffered injustice.
8. Mr X’s injustice lies in the PCN the Council issued him and he has used his right of appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal to challenge this. The restriction set out at Paragraph 4 therefore applies.
9. Mr X suggests the Council should consider cancelling all PCNs issued at the location due to inadequate signage but any motorist issued with a PCN has the right to appeal and it is for the Traffic Penalty Tribunal to decide if there are grounds to cancel a PCN on the circumstances of each case.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is out of our jurisdiction. Mr X has exercised his right of appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman