The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about toll bridge penalty charge notices as it is reasonable to expect Mr X to appeal against them to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
The complaint
Mr X complains that due to administrative failures by the Council in registering his new vehicle for free blue badge Mersey bridge crossings, the Council wrongly issued him with two penalty charge notices (PCNs).
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 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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Parliament has provided an appeal mechanism whereby motorists can challenge PCNs, ultimately to independent adjudicators, in this case, at the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT). We are not an alternate appeal body in this process and are not empowered to make the decisions the TPT can. It is reasonable therefore to expect Mr X to dispute the PCNs via appeals to the TPT and we will not therefore investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect him to appeal the PCNs to the TPT.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman