Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice for an alleged traffic contravention and the Council’s handling of her complaint. It would be reasonable to expect Mrs X to use the statutory representations and appeals procedure.

The complaint

1. Mrs X says the Council has wrongly issued a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for an alleged traffic contravention. She says it failed to appropriately consider her complaint about the matter and has unfairly progressed enforcement whilst her complaint remains unresolved.

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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.
5. 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 no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information from Mrs X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. In April 2026, the Council offered Mrs X a further opportunity to pay at a discounted rate or challenge the PCN. It advised Mrs X that if it did not receive a challenge or payment, the statutory enforcement process would continue.
8. The Council progressed the case in September 2026.
9. We will not investigate this complaint. If Mrs X disagrees with the PCN, it is reasonable for her to use the statutory representations and appeals procedure.
10. We will also not investigate the Council’s complaint handling. It is not a proportionate use of resources to investigate complaint handling where we decide not to investigate the substantive matter.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint because it is reasonable for Mrs X to use the representations and appeals procedure.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman