London Borough of Ealing (26 001 404)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 28 Apr 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the enforcement of a Penalty Charge Notice. It is reasonable to expect the complainant to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to seek to regain their appeal rights, and then to appeal to a tribunal.
The complaint
- Mr X says the Council has refused to cancel penalty notices which were sent to his previous address. He says the matter has wrongly progressed through the enforcement procedure and bailiffs costs have been incurred because he did not receive the documents and appeal opportunities.
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, the Council’s responses, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My Assessment
- Mr X says he did not receive penalty notices for traffic offences because they were sent to his previous address. He says that bailiffs have also attended his previous address and he has incurred additional charges. The Council says it sent the correspondence to the address provided by the DVLA. It is a requirement for any vehicle owner to inform the DVLA of a change of address and an offence not to do so.
- The Council advised Mr X of his right to submit an out-of-time witness statement to the Traffic Enforcement Centre if he wished to challenge the penalties and restore his appeal rights.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because it is reasonable to expect the complainant to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to regain their appeal rights and may then appeal if the TEC agrees.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman