The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a Penalty charge Notice because it is reasonable to expect Miss Y to appeal to the Traffic Enforcement Centre and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
The complaint
Miss Y complained the Council wrongly issued her with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) and have failed to properly handle her appeal, she believes to stop her from appealing.
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) The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review 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 use this right. (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.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information Miss Y provided and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Miss Y has a right in law to submit a late statutory declaration to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC), asking it to remove any charge certificate for the PCN, explaining why she has previously not been able to appeal to the Tribunal. If the TEC accepts Miss Y’s application it can take the process back to an earlier stage, reducing the amount of the PCN and reinstating Miss Y’s right of appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. Miss Y can then decide if she wishes to appeal the PCN or pay the penalty.
This is often free in the initial stages and reasonable adjustments can be made where necessary for access to the service.
The Traffic Penalty Tribunal can consider how the Council dealt with Miss Y’s appeal, and whether it followed the correct process in considering her representations and issuing her appeal rights to her. If it finds that it did not consider her representations properly, it can then consider the issues Miss Y has raised as the reasons why the PCN is either invalid or should not be enforced, including the terms and conditions for example.
Consequently, as Miss Y has not provided any other reason why she cannot, it is reasonable to expect Miss Y to use these rights to appeal. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss Y’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect Miss Y to appeal to the Traffic Enforcement Centre and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman