Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council issuing Mr X with four Penalty Charge Notices. This is because the matter has been considered through the statutory appeal process and is therefore outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council issued him four Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), despite him having a valid parking permit. He says both the Council and the Tribunal rejected his appeals. Mr X says this has had a significant impact on his mental health. He wants the Council to cancel the PCNs.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for all areas of England outside London.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Tribunal is part of the statutory process for challenging PCNs. Mr X has exercised his right of appeal, and the Tribunal has decided his case. We cannot investigate a complaint about a matter that has been appealed to a tribunal. Therefore, we cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint.

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Final decision

8. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has exercised his right of appeal to the Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman