The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice. This is because Mr Y has already appealed to the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court.
The complaint
Mr Y complained the Council has pursued him for payment of a Penalty Charge Notice, despite him not being aware of the PCN until he was contacted by bailiffs.
Mr Y says he and his family have been significantly distressed.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal or a government minister or started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6), as amended) The courts have said that where someone has used their right of appeal, reference or review or remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law, the Ombudsman has no jurisdiction to investigate. (R v The Commissioner for Local Administration ex parte PH (1999) EHCA Civ 916)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information Mr Y and the Council provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council issued a PCN to Mr Y in October 2021. Mr Y says he did not receive any correspondence about the PCN and only became aware of it after bailiffs contacted him to recover the debt owed. He says the bailiffs put the recovery action on hold while he made an out of time application to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court in April 2022. The TEC refused the application in June. Mr Y approached us in August.
Analysis The law says where someone has appealed the matter to a court, we do not have the power to investigate. Consequently, we cannot investigate this complaint as Mr Y has appealed to the TEC, which is part of Northampton County Court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman