City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (26 009 420)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a parking penalty charge notice as it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about how the Council dealt with his appeal against a parking penalty charge notice (PCN) and that it did not inform him of his right to appeal the PCN to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT).
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X made representations against the PCN. The Council rejected these and in its rejection letter to him, advised Mr X he could pay the PCN or wait to receive a Notice to Owner (NtO), which would have allowed him to formally appeal the PCN to the Council. Mr X paid the PCN but continued to challenge it. The Council advised him that he had lost the right to challenge as he had paid the PCN.
- When the Council rejected Mr X’s challenge, it correctly advised him of his options – either to pay or wait to appeal, following receipt of the Notice to Owner (NtO). Mr X chose to pay and so lost the right to appeal. We will not investigate as it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council.
- Had Mr X not paid the PCN and formally appealed to the Council, he would have had the right to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, had the Council rejected his appeal.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely we will find fault by the Council
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman