The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s enforcement of a penalty charge notice as Mr X has a remedy via the courts which he can reasonably use.
The complaint
Mr X complains he did not receive proper notification of a penalty charge notice (PCN) the Council issued to him. Mr X is experiencing problems challenging this via the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC). Mr X has been caused stress by this and has been impacted financially due to the time spent dealing with the matter. Mr X wants the PCN to be cancelled.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Parliament has provided a challenge mechanism via the court at the TEC when a motorist claims something has gone wrong in the enforcement of a PCN. While Mr X describes problems he has experienced in trying to do this, we have no remit over the TEC and so cannot investigate its actions.
It is reasonable to expect Mr X to pursue his court remedy and as per paragraph two, we will not therefore investigate.
We also have no power to cancel the PCN.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect him to seek a remedy via the court at the TEC.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman