Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice for a parking contravention. This is because it is reasonable for Mr B to put in an appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains the Council issued him with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for parking his vehicle in a disabled parking bay. Mr B says he parked at night and there was no demand for this parking bay at the time. Mr B says the Council did not consider its discretion and has not acted in a proportionate manner when issuing and upholding this PCN.

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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 Act 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. 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

5. I considered information provided by Mr B.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. A motorist may pay a PCN to cancel it. Or, the motorist may follow the statutory representations and appeals process to challenge a PCN. This involves the motorist making formal representations to the local authority after receiving a Notice to Owner. If the local authority rejects these representations, the motorist may put in an appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (for authorities outside London).
8. The Tribunal cannot uphold a parking appeal on the basis of mitigating circumstances. But, the Tribunal has a power to require a council to reconsider a case and decide whether a PCN should be cancelled.
9. The Tribunal is independent and the process is free to use and relatively straightforward. We generally expect motorists to use this process if they consider a PCN was wrongly issued.
10. Mr B may use this process to challenge this PCN and I find it is reasonable for him to do this.
11. So, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to put in an appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman