Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice for an alleged parking contravention. It would be reasonable to expect Mr X to have used the statutory representations and appeals procedure.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council did not properly consider his representations about a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for an alleged parking contravention. He also complains about how the Council handled his complaint.

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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 and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate this complaint because it would have been reasonable for Mr X to use the representations and appeals procedure. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman