The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a penalty charge notice as there is a procedure provided in law for Mr X to challenge it and it is reasonable to expect him to follow this procedure.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council wrongly issued him a parking penalty charge notice (PCN) as the signage in the area was not adequate. Mr X complains the Council has sent him a charge certificate (CC) for the outstanding PCN without sending him a notice to owner (NtO). Mr X has therefore been unable to formally appeal.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The next step in the enforcement procedure is for the Council to register the debt with the county court. An order for recovery will then be issued. On receipt of this, Mr X can challenge the Council’s enforcement of the PCN by making a witness statement to the court (the Traffic Enforcement Centre) to say he did not receive the NtO. If this is successful, the order for recovery will be withdrawn. The Council will then either issue a new NtO, enabling Mr X to appeal, or refer the case to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for guidance.
This is the procedure provided by Parliament to enable motorists to challenge the enforcement of a PCN when it has reached this point. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to follow the statutory procedure and as such, we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is a statutory procedure he can follow to object to the PCN enforcement and it is reasonable to expect him to do so.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman