The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about a Penalty Charge Notice. This is because it is reasonable for Mr B to appeal to London Tribunals.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr B, complains that the Council wrongly issued him with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for an alleged parking contravention. Mr B says the parking restriction was not clearly signed. Mr B would like the Council to cancel the PCN and put up clearer signage.
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 Act 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.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr B.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr B may make formal representations to the Council by waiting to receive a Notice to Owner. If the Council rejects Mr B’s formal representations, he may put in an appeal to London Tribunals to challenge the PCN.
I find it is reasonable for Mr B to use this process to challenge the PCN. The tribunal is in the best position to decide if the PCN was correctly issued. It is not our role to provide an alternative right of appeal. So, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to appeal to London Tribunals.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman