Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about two penalty charge notices issued by the Council. This is because the validity of the penalty charge notices is a matter for the appeals process and it would be reasonable for Miss X to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court to reinstate this right.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, complains the Council issued her two penalty charge notices (PCNs) when her car broke down and her breakdown company was unable to attend to move it immediately. Her mother, Miss Y, telephoned the Council to explain what had happened and agreed to send evidence of the breakdown but says she did not receive a response to this. She only found out the Council had not cancelled the PCNs when enforcement agents (bailiffs) acting for the Council contacted Miss X for payment.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)
4. London Tribunals considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for London.
5. 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)
6. The Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) is part of Northampton County Court. It considers applications from local authorities to pursue payment of unpaid PCNs and from motorists to challenge local authorities’ pursuit of unpaid PCNs.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by Miss X’s representative, Miss Y.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

The PCN process

9. There is a set procedure councils must follow when pursuing PCNs for parking contraventions and handling appeals against them. When a council issues a PCN the motorist has 28 days to pay the penalty charge or appeal; appeals at this stage are known as ‘informal challenges’.
10. If the motorist submits an informal challenge to a PCN and the Council decides not to accept them, it will write to the motorist and explain why. If the motorist accepts the Council’s reasons they may pay the PCN; if not, they may wait for a ‘notice to owner’. This provides a further opportunity for the owner of the vehicle to pay the charge or make ‘formal representations’ against the PCN. If the council rejects the motorist’s formal representations the motorist may appeal to London Tribunals.
11. If the motorist does not pay or make formal representations the council will issue a charge certificate, increasing the amount payable by 50%. It may then apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court to register the debt, before instructing bailiffs to recover it.

Miss X’s case

12. Miss Y, on Miss X’s behalf, says she sent the Council evidence to confirm Miss X’s car had broken down but the Council did not respond. She also suggests Miss X did not receive the notices to owner or charge certificates and did not therefore have a chance to appeal against the PCNs.
13. Because Miss X did not receive the notices to owner she may apply to the TEC to challenge the Council’s escalation of the cases. She can do this by making an application to file a witness statement ‘out of time’.
14. If the TEC accepts Miss X’s application it may order the Council to take the process back to an earlier stage, reinstating her right of appeal and removing any additional charges from the amount owed. It would then be reasonable for Miss X to make formal representations to the Council and appeal to London Tribunals. If the TEC refuses Miss X’s application she may apply for a review.
15. The witness statement process has been specifically designed to deal with issues such as the one Ms X describes and it is relatively easy to follow. The TEC’s decisions are also binding on both parties.
16. We cannot hold the Council at fault for not receiving Miss Y’s evidence, or for Miss X not receiving correspondence about the PCNs sent by the Council to Miss X at the address held by the DVLA. The witness statement process is therefore better placed to deal with the issue in this case, and to provide the outcome Miss X wants.

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Final decision

17. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Miss X to apply to the TEC to make a late witness statement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman