London Borough of Islington (26 002 497)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 11 May 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice for an alleged moving traffic contravention. This is because it was reasonable for Mr B to put in an appeal to London Tribunals.
The complaint
- Mr B complains the Council wrongly issued him with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for an alleged moving traffic contravention. Mr B says the signage in this location is unclear and misleading, and the Council relied on incorrect information when rejecting his representations. Mr B would like the Council to reconsider its response and refund the £80 he paid to cancel this PCN.
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 considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information from Mr B and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- A motorist may challenge a PCN by putting in formal representations to the authority after receiving a Notice to Owner, and if needed, by putting in an appeal to London Tribunals (for authorities in London). The Tribunal is independent and the process is free to use. We generally expect a motorist to use this process if they consider a PCN was wrongly issued. Once a PCN has been paid it is cancelled. A motorist cannot pay a PCN and put in an appeal.
- Rather than pay this PCN, Mr B could have put in an appeal to London Tribunals. I find it was reasonable for Mr B to do this and the Tribunal was in the best position to decide the issue complained about. So, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because it was reasonable for Mr B to put in an appeal to London Tribunals.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman