The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint alleging the Council sent a parking fine wrongly to the complainant’s home and then referred the matter to bailiffs. This is because the complainant has a right of appeal to court.
The complaint
Miss X complains about being issued with a parking fine. She says the Council incorrectly named someone else on the parking fine paperwork although her car is correctly identified.
She also says the Council failed to respond to her concerns and she would now like the opportunity to pay off the parking fine at the original 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 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) The Traffic Penalty Tribunal considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for all areas of England outside 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 the information Miss X provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Parliament has laid down a detailed process allowing individuals the right to challenge parking tickets from the Council.
Miss X says the Council failed to respond to her initial concerns about the spelling error in her first name. She also says she failed to receive a Notice to Owner that would have allowed her to formally appeal.
The Council says it sent the ticket with the details provided by the DVLA. But in response to Miss X’s complaint made in August, it told her she could pay the charge at the original rate.
The Ombudsman will not investigate.
I note the parking ticket has detailed Miss X’s full name albeit with one letter wrong in the spelling of her first name.
It is open to Miss X now to submit a statutory declaration to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) which is a court. If the TEC accepts Miss X’s application it could take the process back to an earlier stage, reducing the amount of the PCN and reinstating her right of appeal against it to the Council or to the Tribunal as it considers appropriate. Miss X can then decide if she wishes to appeal the PCN or pay the penalty.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because she has a right to appeal to the TEC.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman