Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a penalty charge notice. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council and it would have been reasonable for Mr X to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council failed to respond to his informal challenge to a penalty charge notice (PCN). He also complains about the Council’s handling of his subject access request.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
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. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for all areas of England outside London.
5. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. 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’.
8. 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 the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
9. Mr X says he submitted an informal challenge and he has provided a copy of the Council’s acknowledgement of his submission. However the Council says Mr X’s appeal was not attached to the submission so it did not have an appeal to consider. It asked Mr X to provide a copy of the challenge but Mr X says he does not have one.
10. The Council’s acknowledgement shows it received Mr X’s online submission but it does not show that the submission contained full details in order for the Council to consider his challenge.
11. It is unlikely we could ever get to the bottom of what was attached to Mr X’s informal challenge as neither he nor the Council has any record of it. Mr X has made subject access requests for the information and if he is not happy with the Council’s responses he may refer the matter to the ICO.
12. In any event, any failure by the Council to respond to Mr X’s informal challenge is not an issue which causes him significant injustice. Mr X confirms he received the notice to owner and this provided him a fresh opportunity to make representations and appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal and it would have been reasonable for Mr X to follow this process.
13. While Mr X says he cannot recall the information he included within his informal challenge it is his responsibility to make a case for cancellation of the PCN and he may include within his appeal any information or details he believes calls its validity into question. It will then be for the Council to decide whether to cancel the PCN and, if it does not, Mr X may refer the matter to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal to make its own decision.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council and if Mr X wished to dispute the PCN it would have been reasonable for him to appeal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman