The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council issuing the complainant with a penalty charge notice for an alleged parking contravention.
This is because the complainant appealed the notice to a tribunal which allowed his appeal. We have no jurisdiction to investigate a complaint where the matters raised have been appealed to a tribunal.
The complaint
The complainant (Mr X) complains about the Council issuing a penalty charge notice (PCN) for an alleged parking contravention. Mr X appealed the PCN to the London Tribunals which found no evidence of a contravention and instructed this be cancelled by the Council. He complains the Council issued the PCN fraudulently and says this has caused him significant time and trouble. As a desired outcome, he wants the Council to apologise, be held accountable and provide compensation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal or a government minister or started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6), as amended) We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended).
London Tribunals considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
When Mr X received the PCN, he appealed to the London Tribunals which issued a decision allowing the appeal in favour of Mr X in January 2024. The traffic adjudicator instructed the Council to cancel the PCN. The law says we have no legal jurisdiction to investigate a complaint when the complainant has submitted an appeal about the same issues. Mr X’s complaint raises matters which were considered and decided on by a tribunal. We have no jurisdiction to investigate and the restrictions I outline at paragraphs two and three (above) apply.
Final decision
We cannot investigate this complaint because Mr X appealed the PCN to a tribunal which allowed his appeal. We have no jurisdiction to investigate a complaint where the matters raised have been appealed to a tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman