London Borough of Brent (26 008 258)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 19 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the enforcement of a Penalty Charge Notice. It was reasonable to expect Mr X to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to seek to regain his appeal rights, and then to appeal to a tribunal.
The complaint
- Mr X says he did not receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) the Council issued to him until the charge had increased. He says the matter has wrongly progressed through the enforcement procedure.
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 Mr X, the Council, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says the Council issued him with a PCN, but he did not become aware of it until the charge had increased to £240. He says he appealed to the Council, which rejected his appeal.
- We will not investigate this complaint because Mr X could have appealed to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) to regain his appeal rights. If the TEC accepts the application, the appeal rights are restored, and Mr X could have appealed to London Tribunals.
- Mr X has now paid for the PCN so there is nothing further we can achieve for him.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because it was reasonable to expect Mr X to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to regain his appeal rights.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman