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

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about several penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued by Transport for London (TfL) for a vehicle that is no longer his. He says TfL has cancelled some PCNs but pursued others, despite his evidence.

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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.
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
6. 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

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

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My assessment

8. There is a set procedure TfL must follow when pursuing PCNs for moving traffic contraventions. When it identifies a contravention it will issue a PCN to the owner/registered keeper by post. This will detail the amount of the fine and the motorist’s right of appeal, firstly to the council itself and then to a Tribunal.
9. The motorist has 28 days from the date of the notice to pay the penalty charge or make representations against it. For the first 14 days after the PCN the motorist may pay at a discounted rate of 50% of the full fine.
10. If the motorist does not pay the PCN or challenge it, or if their representations are unsuccessful, TfL may issue a charge certificate increasing the amount of the penalty charge by 50%. If the charge remains unpaid TfL may then register the debt with the county court and serve an order for recovery, providing a basis for action by enforcement agents (bailiffs) to recover payment from the motorist.
11. While Mr X says he challenged the PCNs with TfL it does not appear he followed the next stage of the process, which is to appeal to London Tribunals, and I have seen nothing to show it would have been unreasonable for him to do so. I will not therefore exercise our discretion to investigate the complaint.
12. London Tribunals’ records show Mr X has previously applied to the TEC to challenge TfL’s escalation of two other cases. So if Mr X believes TfL failed to follow the correct process in the remaining cases it would be reasonable to expect him to use the same process to reinstate his appeal right and then appeal to London Tribunals.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would have been reasonable for Mr X to appeal to London Tribunals.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman