The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice. This is because it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to use his right to appeal to the Traffic Enforcement Centre.
The complaint
Mr Y complained the Council has increase the penalty he has to pay after it rejected his appeal against a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). Mr Y says he did not receive the Council’s letter telling him his appeal was rejected so he was not able to pay at the lower amount and considers this unfair.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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 Mr Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council issued a PCN to Mr Y in March 2022. This included a penalty at a reduced rate of £35. MR Y says he was willing to pay the penalty, but after speaking to the Council to explain the circumstances behind the PCN being issued, decided to appeal to the Council. The Council rejected Mr Y’s appeal.
Mr Y says he did not receive the letter to explain the Council’s rejection and therefore only became aware the amount had increased in June to £105. He complained to the Council about the increase and asked it to reduce the amount back to £35. The Council refused and suggested Mr Y could make further representations once it had sent him an Order for Recovery form. Mr Y then approached us.
Analysis Mr Y has a right to submit a statutory declaration to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC), asking it to remove the charge certificate for the PCN and appeal the PCN itself. If he is not able to do this before the deadline, Mr Y can apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) to make a late statutory declaration. If the TEC accepts Mr Y’s application it can take the process back to an earlier stage, reducing the amount of the PCN and reinstating Mr Y’s right of appeal against it to the TEC. Mr Y can then decide if he wishes to appeal the PCN or pay the penalty.
This is often free in the initial stages and reasonable adjustments can be made where necessary for access to the service.
Consequently, as Mr Y has not provided any other reason why he cannot, it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to use his right to appeal. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect Mr Y to use his right to appeal to the Traffic Enforcement Centre.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman