The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about a penalty charge notice issued by the Council as Mr X has appealed to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a second penalty charge notice issued by the Council as the Council has cancelled the notice and it is unlikely we would recommend any further remedy.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains about two penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued by the Council. He says the matter left him feeling frustrated.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Traffic Penalty Tribunal considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for all areas of England outside London.
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. We may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal but cannot investigate if the person has already appealed. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended) We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
I shared my draft decision with Mr X and took account of his comments.
My assessment
The Council issued Mr X two PCNs for parking contraventions when Mr X’s permit fell from his windscreen. Mr X challenged both PCNs with the Council and while it refused to cancel the first PCN (PCN 1) it agreed to cancel the second (PCN 2). Mr X then appealed against PCN 1 to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal and the Tribunal cancelled the PCN.
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about PCN 1 as Mr X has used his right of appeal. While we retain discretion to investigate Mr X’s complaint about PCN 2 the Council’s cancellation of the PCN provides a suitable remedy for the issue and it is unlikely we would recommend anything more.
Final decision
We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about PCN 1 as Mr X has appealed to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about PCN 2 as the Council has provided a suitable remedy for the issue.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman