The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about a penalty charge notice as it is reasonable to expect Miss X to have appealed against it to the independent parking tribunal. The complaint is not therefore within our remit.
The complaint
Miss X complains instructions on a visitor’s permit she used to park were ineligible and that the penalty charge notice (PCN) she was issued for not properly following the instructions should be cancelled.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), 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 an appeal route against PCNs, ultimately to independent parking adjudicators at, in this case, London Tribunals. It is reasonable to expect Miss X to have followed this statutory procedure to challenge the PCN. We are not an appeal body and we cannot cancel the PCN. The Tribunal can.
For these reasons, we will not investigate. That Miss X decided to pay the PCN rather than appeal against it does not impact on this decision.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because she could reasonably have appealed against the PCN to London Tribunals.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman