London Borough of Havering (25 023 903)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Feb 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to respond to his representations against a penalty charge notice. This is because it would be reasonable to expect Mr X to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court to make a witness statement/statutory declaration.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council failed to respond to his representations against a penalty charge notice (PCN). He disputes the PCN and wants the Council to cancel it.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
- 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.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Because Mr X did not receive a response to his representations he may apply to the TEC to challenge the Council’s escalation of the case. He can do this by making an application to file a witness statement/statutory declaration. The ‘Order for Recovery’ will provide further details of this process once the Council has registered the case with the TEC.
- If the TEC accepts Mr X’s application it may order the Council to take the process back to an earlier stage, reinstating his right of appeal and removing any additional charges from the amount owed. If the TEC refuses Mr X’s application he may apply for a review.
- The witness statement/statutory declaration process has been specifically designed to deal with issues such as the one Mr X describes and it is relatively easy to follow. The TEC’s decisions are also binding on both parties. Mr X has confirmed his willingness to take the matter to court and I am therefore satisfied it would be reasonable to expect him to use the process.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to apply to the TEC to make a witness statement/statutory declaration.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman