Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s enforcement of a penalty charge notice as Mr X can ask the court to consider his case.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains he received no notification from the Council about a parking penalty charge notice (PCN) it issued to him, until he received a charge certificate about it. Mr X says this has caused him stress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Parliament has provided a process by which by Mr X can challenge the enforcement of the PCN, by asking the court at the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) to consider his case. Mr X can do this once the Council has sent him the next notice in the process, an Order for Recovery. The Council has advised Mr X of this.
6. I recognise Mr X is feeling stressed about this matter but it is reasonable to expect him to follow the procedure provided in law to address the position he finds himself in. As such, we will not investigate.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he can ask the TEC to consider his case.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman