Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a penalty charge notice. There is not enough evidence of fault and he has used his right of appeal. Therefore we cannot investigate.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of a penalty charge notice (PCN) that he received for a moving traffic offence. He says the Council failed to respond to his formal representations within the statutory timeframe and therefore the PCN should be cancelled.
2. Mr X says the matter has caused him distress and anxiety. He wants the Council to cancel the PCN and compensate him.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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))
4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

8. For PCNs about moving traffic offences, councils should normally respond to representations within three months. The evidence I have seen shows the Council responded to Mr X’s representations within this timeframe. Therefore, there is not enough evidence of fault on this point.
9. Since Mr X complained to us, he has appealed to the Environment and Traffic Adjudicator (ETA) at London Tribunals. The Council has advised the case is on hold pending the appeal outcome.
10. As Mr X has exercised his right of appeal against the PCN to the Tribunal, we cannot investigate the PCN itself.

Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault and he has used his right of appeal to the Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman