Southampton City Council (26 000 342)
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 a Penalty Charge Notice for a traffic contravention. Mr X has already used the statutory representations procedure, and it was reasonable for him to use his right of appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
The complaint
- Mr X says the Council wrongly issued a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for an alleged traffic contravention because signage and road markings for a bus gate were unclear.
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 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)
- London Tribunals consider parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London, and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for the rest of England.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information from Mr X, the Council and the Ombudsman’s code.
My assessment
- The Council issued Mr X with a PCN for an alleged traffic contravention in September 2025.
- Mr X made representations to the Council and the Council rejected them. Mr X then paid the discounted amount of £35.
- If the Council rejects a motorist’s formal representations, the motorist can appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. An unsuccessful appeal at the formal stages usually requires payment of the full PCN amount.
- We will not investigate this complaint because Mr X has already used the statutory representations procedure and it was reasonable for him to use his right of appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
- It is in any event unlikely we would investigate Mr X’s complaint. Mr X paid the PCN at the discounted rate of £35 and this amount is not a significant enough injustice to warrant further investigation..
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because Mr X has already used the statutory representations procedure and it was reasonable for him to use his right of appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman