The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about a penalty charge notice issued by Transport for London. This is because it would have been reasonable for her to appeal to London Tribunals. In the event Miss X did not receive Transport for London’s correspondence about the penalty charge notice it would be reasonable for her to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to make a late statutory declaration.
The complaint
The complainant, Miss X, complains Transport for London (TfL) wrongly issued her a penalty charge notice (PCN) for a congestion charge contravention. She says she paid the charge.
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 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) London Tribunals (previously known as the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service) considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London.
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 Miss X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
The PCN process There is a set procedure TfL must follow when pursuing PCNs for congestion charge contraventions. When TfL identifies a contravention it will issue a PCN to the owner/registered keeper by post. This will detail the amount of the fine and the motorist’s right of appeal, firstly to the council itself and then to a Tribunal. The Council will send the PCN to the address of the registered keeper, as held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
The motorist has 28 days from the date of the notice to pay the penalty charge or make representations against it. For the first 14 days after the PCN the motorist may pay at a discounted rate of 50% of the full fine.
If the motorist does not pay the PCN or challenge it, or if their representations are unsuccessful, the council may issue a charge certificate increasing the amount of the penalty charge by 50%. If the charge remains unpaid the council may then register the debt with the county court and serve an order for recovery, providing a basis for action by enforcement agents (bailiffs) to recover payment from the motorist.
My assessment
If Miss X disputed the PCN it would have been reasonable for her to appeal under the process set out above, firstly to TfL and then to London Tribunals.
If for any reason Miss X did not receive TfL’s correspondence about the PCN she may apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court to make a late statutory declaration. If the TEC accepts Miss X’s application it may take the process back to an earlier stage, reducing the amount of the PCN and reinstating Miss X’s right of appeal. We would then expect her to follow the appeals process as above. If the TEC refuses Miss X’s application she may request a review of its decision.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because Miss X had a right of appeal against the PCN which it would have been reasonable for her to use and she may apply to the court to reinstate this right.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman