Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s issue of documentation relating to the escalation of a penalty charge notice to his old address. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court to make a late witness statement/statutory declaration.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council escalated a penalty charge notice (PCN) issued to his previous address despite him asking it to send further correspondence to his new address. He says he did not receive any correspondence from the Council until enforcement agents (bailiffs) clamped his car and forced him to pay.

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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 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Councils will usually send correspondence about PCNs to the address of the owner/registered keeper, as held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. They will not however check the address with the DVLA at every stage of the process.
6. I appreciate Mr X is unhappy the Council did not update his address following his contact but the fact he did not receive the original PCN provides grounds for him to challenge its escalation of the case with the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court. He can do this by applying to make a late witness statement or statutory declaration, depending on the nature of the contravention. The TEC will be able to provide advice about the type of application Mr X would need to make.
7. If the TEC accepts Mr X’s application it may order the Council to take the process back to an earlier stage, removing the basis for any additional fees and surcharges. We would then expect the Council to refund these charges. If the TEC refuses Mr X’s application Mr X may apply for a review of its decision.
8. I have seen nothing to suggest it would not be reasonable for Mr X to follow this process so I will not exercise our discretion to investigate the complaint.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Mr X to apply to the TEC to make a late witness statement/statutory declaration.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman