Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice. This is because Miss X has used her right to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to submit a statutory declaration out of time.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council did not place her on a payment plan to pay a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). Miss X said the process has been very stressful and has led to her retaking a year at university. She would like the Council to refund enforcement fees and provide compensation.

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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 courts have said that where someone has sought a remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law, we cannot investigate. This is the case even if the appeal did not or could not provide a complete remedy for all the injustice claimed. (R v The Commissioner for Local Administration ex parte PH (1999) EHCA Civ 916)
4. 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

5. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. There is a set procedure councils must follow when pursuing PCNs for parking contraventions and handling appeals against them. When a council issues a PCN the motorist has 28 days to pay the penalty charge or appeal; appeals at this stage are known as ‘informal challenges’.
8. If the motorist submits an informal challenge to a PCN and the Council decides not to accept them, it will write to the motorist and explain why. If the motorist accepts the Council’s reasons they may pay the PCN; if not, they may wait for a ‘notice to owner’. This provides a further opportunity for the owner of the vehicle to pay the charge or make ‘formal representations’ against the PCN. If the council rejects the motorist’s formal representations the motorist may appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
9. If the motorist does not pay or make formal representations the council will issue a charge certificate, increasing the amount payable by 50%. It may then apply to the TEC at Northampton County Court to register the debt, before instructing enforcement agents (bailiffs) to recover it.
10. The Council issued Miss X a PCN in April 2024. The Council informed Miss X in February 2025 that it would consider a payment plan for the outstanding charges. The Council said Miss X did not supply all the evidence it had requested for its consideration of a payment plan, and informed her the case would progress to Enforcement Agents.
11. Miss X applied to the TEC to submit a statutory declaration out of time which it refused. We cannot investigate this complaint because Miss X used her right to apply to the TEC to make a late witness statement and therefore it is out of our jurisdiction.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because Miss X has used her right to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to submit a statutory declaration out of time.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman