Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Penalty Charge Notices for alleged parking or traffic contraventions. It would be reasonable to expect the complainant to use the statutory representations and appeals procedure.

The complaint

1. Miss X says the Council has wrongly issued a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN)s to her previous address did not properly consider her representations about vulnerability and a temporary accommodation for an alleged traffic contravention.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes limits on what we can investigate.
3. 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. If the person has already appealed we have no power to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. London Tribunals considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for the rest of England.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information from the complainant and the Council’s responses and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

My Assessment

6. Miss X says the Council pursued her with bailiffs for unpaid penalty charge safter she left her home address and was housed in temporary accommodation she says the Council knew she was vulnerable and should have taken this into account.
7. The Council obtained her address for the penalties from the DVLA which holds details of vehicle owners. It is an offence not to inform the DVLA of a change of address for the vehicles V5 document because this is provided to the Police and other bodies related to motoring offences. The Council sent the penalties and bailiffs to the address provided for Miss X’s V5 document.
8. When Miss X informed the Council of her circumstances it agreed to suspend the bailiff action and to re-issue Notice to owner documents for the PCN’s which gives her an opportunity to appeal to the London Tribunals if she wishes to challenge them.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint about Penalty Charge Notices for alleged parking or traffic contraventions. It would be reasonable to expect the complainant to use the statutory representations and appeals procedure.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman