The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about a penalty charge notice. This is because it would have been reasonable for Mr X to appeal to London Tribunals.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains about a penalty charge notice (PCN) issued by Transport for London (TfL). Mr X did not pay the PCN so TfL passed the case to its enforcement agents (bailiffs). Mr X paid the bailiffs £1069 to settle the case but he disputes the PCN and wants TfL to refund his payment.
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 about the same matter. 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 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 Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
If Mr X disputed the PCN it would have been reasonable for him to appeal under the statutory appeals process. The time for appealing has now passed, but if Mr X did not receive TfL’s correspondence and believes he was prevented from appealing he may apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court to make a late statutory declaration. If the TEC accepts Mr X’s application it may order TfL to take the process back to an earlier stage, reinstating his right of appeal and reducing the amount of the PCN. If the TEC refuses Mr X’s application Mr X may ask for a review of its decision.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would have been reasonable for Mr X to appeal to London Tribunals.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman