Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about two Penalty Charge Notices because the complainant appealed to the tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains he did not get the first letter about two Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) which offered the chance to pay £35 for each fine. Mr X says the Council did not respond to his request to pay the fines over two months. Mr X wants the Council to re-issue the first letter so he can pay £35 for each PCN.

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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. 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)
4. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal considers parking and moving traffic offence appeals for all areas of England outside London.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council. This includes the complaint correspondence. I also considered our Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council issued two PCNs for a bus lane offence. The fines were £70 each. The Council sent the PCNs to the address it obtained from DVLA. The first letter gave Mr X 21 days to pay each fine at the discounted rate of £35. Mr X says he did not receive either letter.
7. The Council escalated each fine because Mr X neither paid nor appealed. After the Council registered the fines in court, Mr X successfully applied for a witness statement and the court re-set each fine to the PCN stage and payment of £70 was required.
8. Mr X appealed to the tribunal. The tribunal dismissed the appeal in August 2024 and said he had 28 days to pay £70 for each PCN.
9. Mr X did not pay and the Council started recovery action, which meant each fine increased. The Council explained what would happen if Mr X did not pay and warned this may include the use of bailiffs. Mr X asked to pay the fines over two months and the Council responded by saying it does not offer payment plans.
10. I cannot investigate this complaint because Mr X appealed to the tribunal. The law says we cannot investigate any issue that has been the subject of an appeal to the tribunal. This restriction applies even if someone disagrees with the outcome of the appeal. The tribunal directed Mr X to pay £70 for each PCN and we have no power to ask the Council to reduce the fines to £35. In addition, the Council answered Mr X's request to split the payment over a couple of months.

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Final decision

11. We cannot investigate this complaint because Mr X appealed to the tribunal

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman