Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Miss X’s correspondence about a penalty charge notice. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council. The validity of the penalty charge notice itself is a matter for the appeals process and Miss X may wait for the Council to register the case with the court and apply to take the process back to an earlier stage.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council has ignored her correspondence about a penalty charge notice (PCN) for a parking contravention, which she disputes. She says she had a valid parking session at the time the Council issued the PCN and complains the Council failed to respond to her informal challenge. She also says she did not receive the Council’s ‘notice to owner’ and is unhappy the Council has increased the penalty charge from £55 to £165.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)
5. London Tribunals considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

The process

8. There is a set procedure councils must follow when pursuing PCNs for parking contraventions and handling appeals against them. When a council issues a PCN the motorist has 28 days to pay the penalty charge or appeal; appeals at this stage are known as ‘informal challenges’.
9. If the motorist submits an informal challenge to a PCN and the Council decides not to accept them, it will write to the motorist and explain why. If the motorist accepts the Council’s reasons they may pay the PCN; if not, they may wait for a ‘notice to owner’. This provides a further opportunity for the owner of the vehicle to pay the charge or make ‘formal representations’ against the PCN. If the council rejects the motorist’s formal representations the motorist may appeal to London Tribunals.
10. If the motorist does not pay or make formal representations the council will issue a charge certificate, increasing the amount payable by 50%. It may then apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court to register the debt, before instructing enforcement agents (bailiffs) to recover it.

Miss X’s case

11. In response to my enquiries the Council has provided evidence of its correspondence with Miss X which includes copies of its response to her informal challenge and the notice to owner; these are properly addressed and we cannot prove, on balance, that the Council did not send them. I cannot therefore justify investigating the matter further as it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council.
12. It is not for us to adjudicate on the validity of the PCN or decide whether it should be cancelled. This is a matter for London Tribunals. Miss X has lost her right to appeal to London Tribunals as a direct result of her not receiving the notice to owner, but as explained above I cannot say this was the result of any fault by the Council.
13. Miss X may therefore wish to wait for the Council to register the unpaid PCN as a debt with the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court. Once it has done so, she may apply to the TEC to make a witness statement on the grounds she did not receive the notice. If the TEC accepts Miss X’s application it will order the Council to take the process back to an earlier stage, reinstating her right of appeal and removing the basis for any surcharges. The restriction at Paragraph 4 would then apply. If the TEC refuses Miss X’s application she may apply for a review of its decision.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman