Oxfordshire County Council (25 032 065)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 18 May 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Penalty Charge Notices for an alleged parking or traffic contravention. It would be reasonable to expect the complainant to use the statutory representations and appeals procedure. It is also reasonable to expect the complainant to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to seek to regain their appeal rights where lost, and then to appeal to a tribunal.
The complaint
- Mr X says the Council did not act reasonably in how enforcement was managed or how his complaint was handled. He says there were eight Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), but enforcement was pursued under multiple cases with 12 case references. He says this caused confusion and led to escalation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes limits on what we can investigate.
- We cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court or use 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 go to court or appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(6)(a) and (c), as amended)
- London Tribunals considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for the rest of England. The Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC), part of the county court, considers applications to set the PCN process back where there has been procedural fault.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information from the complainant and the Council, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because it would be reasonable for the complainant to use the representations and appeals procedure.
- It is also reasonable to expect the complainant to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to regain their appeal rights where lost, and they may then appeal if the TEC agrees.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman