London Borough of Waltham Forest (25 020 501)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 14 Apr 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s enforcement of penalty charge notices. This is because the complaint is made late and there are not good reasons to investigate now.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains Council enforcement agents (bailiffs) contacted her about outstanding penalty charge notices (PCNs) when she had received no prior notification about them. Mrs X says the Council failed to halt enforcement action when she raised the problem. Mrs X says she was caused distress and inconvenience and would like a financial payment from the Council in recognition of this.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X was first contacted by the Council’s bailiffs in August 2024.
- Mrs X complained to the Council in October 2024. The Council provided its final complaint response at the end of November 2024, referring Mrs X to us if she remained unhappy. Mrs X complained to us in December 2025.
- Mrs X’s complaint is made late as she did not complain to us within a year of her knowing about the problem in August 2024. I consider it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to have complained to us sooner, and within a year, particularly as the Council referred her to us in November 2024. I do not therefore consider there are good reasons to investigate this late complaint now and we will not do so.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the complaint is made late and there are not good reasons to investigate now.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman