PARKING FINES: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

• What happens if I park in contravention of the parking regulations?
• How much is a Penalty Charge Notice?
• If I pay within a certain time, what are the reductions?
• Who is liable to pay

HOW TO COMPLAIN OR MAKE REPRESENTATION.

• Complaining to the local authority.
• The grounds on which I can appeal
• What is informal representation
• What is Notice to Owner (NtO)
• What is formal representation
• What are the grounds for making formal representation
• What is Notice of Acceptance
• What is Notice of Rejection
• What is Notice of Appeal
• What is a Charge Certificate
• What is Registration and Order for Recovery

ALL ABOUT THE STATUTORY DECLARATION

• What is a Statutory Declaration
• What are the grounds
• How do I complete it and get it sworn.
• I Require more time to complete the form
• How do I get it sworn
• Unacceptable Statutory Declarations
• What happens next
• What happens if I do not respond
• Warrant of Execution

COMPLAINING TO THE ADJUDICATOR.

• How can I appeal to the Adjudicator
• What are the grounds for appealing to the Adjudicator
• The appeal process
• Description of the grounds for appeal.
• Contact details for the Adjudicators.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I PARK IN CONTRAVENTION OF THE PARKING REGULATIONS?

A Parking Attendant issues a Penalty Charge Notice. He will have to
either fix the parking ticket to the windscreen of your car, or hand it to the driver. With bus lane contraventions where CCTV is in operation, you will receive a Parking Charge Notice in the post.

Within the past few months, London Borough of Westminster have started using CCTV cameras located in Mercedes Smart Cars for yellow line offences and the Penalty Charge Notice will be sent to you in the post.

HOW MUCH IS THE PENALTY CHARGE NOTICE (PCN)

It varies. Different local authorities have varying rates. In London the charges are set by a London wide body called London Council. This ensures that charges are consistent throughout London.

Full Penalty Discounted Rate
Band: A £100 £50
Band: B £80 £40
Band: C £60 £30

IF I PAY WITHIN A CERTAIN TIME, WHAT ARE THE REDUCTIONS?

In this article we are assuming that the Parking Charge Notice is £100 which sadly, is now the fee for many parts of London. It is important to remember that this is the full price of the ticket.
All local authorities offer to you a discount of 50% for early settlement. In order to take advantage of this discount, your payment has to be received within 14 days from the date of the issue of the PCN. As soon as this period has passed, the discount is no longer available and the ticket price reverts to its original amount of £100.
You can take advantage of the discounted rate of 50% only on condition that you pay within the strict 14 day time limit from when you are issued with your parking ticket.
A lot of people are of the opinion that the price doubles after 14 days….this is not true. The ticket reverts back to its original price. The discount is simply an incentive for you to settle the payment early.
An important point that must be made clear is that if you believe that you should not have received a Parking Charge Notice in the first place, then you must not pay, because, if you do pay, you are deemed to have given up your right to appeal the PCN. However this is not the case if your car has been clamped. This is because you would have been forced to pay the PCN and pay a release fee before the car could be returned

WHO IS LIABLE TO PAY THE PCN?

Under the Road Traffic Act 1991, the owner of a vehicle is liable for the Penalty Charge Notice.
Even if your partner, son, daughter or friend was driving your car, this still means that you are the owner.
The Act says the owner is presumed to be the registered keeper. The local authority will usually check with the DVLA in Swansea to see who was registered as keeper of the vehicle at the date the PCN was issued.
DVLA register the keeper of the vehicle. This is usually the same as the owner. However, in the case of company vehicles, very often it is the company who are registered at DVLA.
The Road Traffic Act 1991 also says that the owner of a vehicle shall be assumed to be the person by whom the vehicle is kept
This person will receive the Notice to Owner. (NtO)
It is important that when you sell your car, that you complete the relevant part of the registration document. This is because in the event that the new owner receives a parking ticket, it will be you that will receive the Notice to Owner if you have not completed the paperwork. You will then need to provide evidence of the date that you sold the vehicle in the event that you object.
If you borrow a car, for instance from a friend, this does not mean that you are the keeper. The person whose name is registered at DVLA is the person seen to be liable for the penalty charge.
If you receive a Notice to Owner about a vehicle you did not own when the Penalty Charge Notice was issued, you must return the representations form explaining the situation. You should give the name and address of the person who you sold the car to, or bought it from, and if possible, enclose a copy of the receipt for the transaction.

COMPLAINING TO THE LOCAL AUTHORITY.

Complaining, or making representation about a Penalty Charge Notice is very common. Published figures show that in 2003/2004 there were over 8 million PCN’s issued in England, with 5 million of them being in London. However there were 1.3 million representations made!!
If you believe that you should not have received a Penalty Charge Notice, (PCN) you should contact the council as soon as possible, but in any event you should aim to do this within 14 days of receiving the PCN if you want to preserve the right to pay at the discount rate. You will normally be asked to put your complaint in writing. This is referred to as making an informal representation and a lot of Penalty Charge Notices are cancelled at this early stage.
Please note that the amount of the PCN will be held at the discounted rate until a decision has been reached by the local authority. If the council rejects your informal representation you will then be given the opportunity to pay at the discounted rate for a period of just 14 days.
This will be the final opportunity for you to pay at the discounted price.
Please note if you make representations electronically by email, or online, you must ensure that your name appears in the message header or in the message as this can be taken to be a signature.

THE GROUNDS ON WHICH YOU CAN APPEAL.

The Road Traffic Act 1991 details the legal grounds which you can use for making a representation against a Penalty Charge Notice. In the event that the council rejects your representation, these same grounds can be used in the event that you wish the matter to be taken to the adjudicator.
When considering this complaints procedure, you may find it useful to know the relevant parts of the Road Traffic Act 1991 that apply to your own situation. By clicking below we have provided details of the actual parts of the act that could be relevant and details of the link to the full Road Traffic Act 1991 for further reading Click here……

GROUNDS FOR PENALTY CHARGE NOTICE APPEALS.

1. The alleged parking contravention did not occur.
2. The penalty charge, (or release or storage charge), exceeded the relevant amount.
3. The Traffic Regulation Order was invalid.
4. You were not the owner of the vehicle when the alleged contravention occurred.
5. When the vehicle was parked it had been taken without your consent.
6. You are a hire company and have supplied the hirer’s name and address.
If the vehicle has been clamped or removed, grounds (4) and (6) do not apply, but the following, additional grounds apply as well.
1. The vehicle was clamped or removed when a disabled person’s badge was on display.
2. The vehicle was clamped or removed when less than 15 minutes had elapsed since the paid time expired. You should offer any evidence in your possession that may support your case. This may include copies of any pay and display tickets, photographs or even witness statements. Do not send originals…and keep a copy, and please ensure that you send this by recorded delivery so that you have proof of posting…..

GROUNDS FOR BUS LANE APPEALS.

The Regulations provide 8 legal grounds of appeal:
1. The alleged bus lane contravention did not occur.
2. The police are already taking action.
3. You were not the owner of the vehicle at the time the alleged contravention occurred.
4. You were the hirer of the vehicle at the time but did not enter into an agreement assuming liability for any contraventions.
5. You are a vehicle hire firm and have supplied the name and address of the hirer.
6. When the bus lane contravention occurred, the vehicle was kept by a vehicle trader.
7. When the contravention occurred, the vehicle had been taken without your consent.
8. The penalty charge exceeded he relevant amount
Or:
• That you appealed to the Parking / Traffic Adjudicator against the local authority’s decision to reject your representation, within 28 days of service of the rejection notice, but had no response to the appeal.

NOTICE TO OWNER (NtO)

If you have either not paid your PCN or if the council rejects your informal challenge the council will send a Notice to Owner to the person or company they believe to be the owner of the vehicle. By now, the full penalty charge will be payable.
This notice goes to the person believed to be the owner of the car, because under the Road Traffic Act 1991 it is the owner of the vehicle who is liable for any Penalty Charge Notices issued to it, irrespective of who the driver was. This is known as owner liability.
If you receive a Notice to Owner (NtO) you can use the form to make formal representations to the council. The Notice to Owner form itself details the legal grounds on which a formal representation may be made.
A Notice to owner should be served within 6 months after the issue of the Penalty Charge Notice upon which it is based. After the expiry of that period, it is still open to the authority to show that the delay in service of the Notice to Owner was not unreasonable in all of the circumstances.

Please note that this 6 month period is applicable to London only....there is currently no time scale ordered for other parts of the country.

WHAT IS FORMAL REPRESENTATION?

After receiving a Penalty Charge Notice, you may consider that it was issued incorrectly etc. You have the opportunity to complain to the local authority, this is called informal representation. If the council does not think that you are correct, they will issue a Notice to Owner that details the legal grounds on which you can make a formal representation. You cannot do this unless you have received the Notice to Owner (NtO)
You must make your formal representation within 28 days of receiving the Notice to Owner. Again, state your case clearly and simply. If you have evidence to support your claims, such as receipts or witness statements, send them in. (We recommend that you always send copies only and hold on to the originals….and ensure that you keep a copy of your letter.
It is very important to note that if you don’t think you meet one of the legal grounds for making a representation, you may still state your case, since the council has the right to exercise its discretion and cancel the Penalty Charge and/or release fee.
A local authority should respond to formal representations within a maximum of 3 months from receipt .Again, it is still open to an authority to show that the delay in considering the representations was not unreasonable in the circumstances.

NOTICE OF ACCEPTANCE.

This is a formal notice issued by the local authority to let you know that they have accepted what you have written and the matter is closed. You do not need to take any further action.
NOTICE OF REJECTION.
This is a formal notice issued by the local authority when they do not accept the formal representations that you made concerning the Penalty Charge Notice.
You now have the choice to either pay the penalty charge at the issue rate or appeal to the Adjudicator within 28 days.
An appeal form should accompany the ‘Notice of Rejection’. If this form is not enclosed with your ‘Notice of Rejection’ you should request one from the council as soon as possible.

NOTICE OF APPEAL.

This is the name given to the Form that will be sent to you with your ‘Notice of Rejection’. Without this you are unable to take the matter to the Independent Adjudicator. You have a further 28 days to complete the Notice of Appeal which will then need to be sent to the adjudicators.
Our advice would be to deal with this in the time frame provided in order avoid a Charge Certificate being issued.
CHARGE CERTIFICATE.
A Charge Certificate will be issued by the local authority, increasing the penalty charge by 50% if the following apply:
• A ‘Notice of Rejection’ has been issued and you did not pay the penalty charge within 28 days
or:
• No appeal to the Adjudicator has been registered at the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service, 28 days after being issued with the ‘ Notice of Rejection’.
• An appeal has been refused by the Adjudicator and payment has not been received within 28 days.
• You have informed the Adjudicator that you intend not to proceed with the appeal but do not make a payment within 14 days of your appeal being withdrawn.
You have 15 days from service of the Charge Certificate to pay the penalty charge before it is registered at The Traffic Enforcement Centre.

REGISTRATION OF DEBT AND ORDER FOR RECOVERY.

If after 14 days of a charge certificate being issued, the penalty charge is still not paid, you will receive this notice from Northampton County Court Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC).
This is to inform you that an order for recovery has been made against you to recover the unpaid penalty charge. It will contain details of the parking contravention together with notes and guidance on how to complete the Statutory Declaration that accompanies it.

WHAT IS A STATUTORY DECLARATION?

This is a formal statement sworn under oath from you to the effect that an earlier stage in the procedure had not been completed or that you were not aware of what should have done before the debt was registered or a warrant was issued.

A valid statutory declaration cancels the Order for Recovery, the Charge Certificate and sometimes: the Notice to Owner in parking contraventions and Enforcement Notice for bus lane contraventions. It does not cancel the Penalty Charge Notice. It does however cancel the 50% increase in the penalty charge notice. It is a criminal offence to willfully make a false statutory declaration.
Making a false declaration is a criminal offence.

WHAT ARE THE GROUND FOR A STATUTORY DECLARATION.

For London Borough Parking Offences: the witness must provide a full postal address and only one ground can be indicated on the Statutory Declaration.

The grounds for making a Statutory Declaration are not the same as those for either making a representation or an appeal. The grounds are as follows:

• That you did not receive the notice to owner / enforcement notice;

• That you made representations about the penalty charge to the Local Authority concerned within 28 days of service of the notice to owner, but did not receive a rejection notice; or

• That you appealed to the Parking / Traffic Adjudicator against
the local authority’s decision to reject his or her representation,
within 28 days of service of the rejection notice, but had no response to the appeal.

For Congestion Charging the grounds on which a Statutory Declaration can be filed are:

• That you did not receive the penalty charge notice.

• That you made representations about the penalty charge to the Local Authority concerned within 28 days of service of the Notice to Owner (NtO) but did not receive a rejection notice; or

• That you appealed to the Parking / Traffic Adjudicator against the local authority’s decision to reject your representation, within 28 days of service of the rejection notice, but had no response to the appeal.

For Vehicle Emissions the grounds on which a Statutory Declaration can be filed are:

• That you did not receive the fixed penalty notice.

• That you made a request for a variation of the fixed penalty to the authority pursuant to Regulation 19 of the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (England) Regulations 2002, but did not receive notification that the amount of the fixed penalty had been reduced or (as the case may be) that your request had been refused/

The acceptance of a valid statutory declaration will always revoke a

HOW DO I FILL IN THE STATUTORY DECLARTION FORM?

In our secure Downloads section you will see that we have provided you with a copy of the Statutory Declaration with an example of the wording required to complete it. This copy can be adapted to suit your own particular circumstances. We have also provided details of how to access the forms online.
The Statutory Declaration should be completed and returned to the Traffic Enforcement Centre within 21 days although there are provisions whereby the court may allow a longer period of time.
Our understanding is that you may have 36 days from authorisation of the warrant to submit a Statutory Declaration “out of time” but in any event no later than one month from the end of the 36 day period.
Once a warrant of execution has been authorised by the TEC you cannot file a statutory declaration.

Instead, you have to file a Statutory Declaration “out of Time” and complete a Statutory Declaration form.

UNACCEPTABLE STATUTORY DEMANDS.

A Statutory Declaration will be refused by the TEC if any of the following reasons apply:

• It has not been signed in the presence of a commissioner for oaths, an officer of the county court appointed by the judge to take affidavits, or a justice of the peace.

• It has not been filed on one of the valid grounds.

If the penalty charge is a London Borough parking offence, the TEC will also refuse the Statutory Declaration for the following reasons:

• It has been filed on more than one of the valid grounds.

• The witness has not provided a full postal address.

• The named respondent has not completed the Statutory
Declaration.

I REQUIRE MORE TIME TO COMPLETE THE FORM.

If you require more time to complete your statutory declaration, you may apply for a time extension (either in writing or via the TEC Helpdesk). You will need to ensure that you quote your penalty charge number, how much time you will need, and the reason why you require more time. Please note that TEC can only grant an extension of up to one month
It is worth noting that the process is different when making an application “out of time”. If the matter is dealt with within the correct time frame, the TEC will cancel the Order for Recovery and Charge Certificate. Any bailiff action must cease.
The difference with an out of time application is that a copy of your Statutory Declaration and all attached correspondence is posted by the Court to the Local Authority who then have14 days to decide whether they are going to accept or oppose your application.
Note: The Local Authority must suspend any bailiff action until a final order has been made.

If the Local Authority accepts the application, it will be processed by the
TEC as a normal Statutory Declaration. The registration will be cancelled
and the action will be passed back to the Local Authority.

If the Local Authority opposes the application within the 14-day period, then they have a further 24 days to file a Statement of Truth or Affidavit. One receipt of this, the TEC will refer the case without hearing to a Court Officer for a decision.
Our advice therefore is to try to ensure that you file the Statutory Declaration within time.

HOW DO I GET IT SWORN?

Once you have completed the Statutory Declaration, you can go to almost any High Street solicitor and ask at the reception desk if there is a solicitor free to swear the document. You may have to wait 5 or 10 minutes at most. Nearly always, a Junior Solicitor will deal with these matters, and he will simply ask that you swear on the bible etc, that the document is yours and that it contains your signature. There is a small fee of approx: £8 for this.
Alternatively, you can just turn up at any County Court and go to the enquiries desk and you can swear the document there. The courts do not make a charge for this. Please note that TEC will refuse the Declaration if it has not been sworn correctly.
The completed form must be sent to The Traffic Enforcement Centre, Northampton not the local authority. The address will be on the Statutory Declaration Form.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

If the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton is satisfied that the Statutory Declaration has been properly made, it will usually make a Court Order cancelling the Order for Recovery and the Charge Certificate (and thereby cancelling the bailiffs) but the Penalty Charge will not be cancelled and will remain ‘live’.
If the Statutory Declaration was made on the ground that:
You did not receive the original Penalty Charge:
• the local authority should then send another copy of the Penalty Charge Notice that you may pay, or you will have the opportunity to make representations against the Penalty Charge Notice and follow the usual appeals process.
•
You made representations or appealed to the Adjudicator, but did not receive a reply:
• In this case, the local authority is under a duty to refer the case to the Adjudicator for further consideration.
The Adjudicator will then decide whether the case should proceed to an appeal hearing in the normal way.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DO NOT RESPOND?

If you do not file a valid Statutory Declaration with TEC within 21 days of the date on the Order for Recovery, the Local Authority may enforce the Charge by requesting a Warrant of Execution. Once the warrant has been authorised by TEC, the local authority will instruct their certificated bailiffs to execute the warrant.
The actual warrant is not produced at Northampton County Court. Instead it is sent electronically to the local authority. It is now common practice for the warrant to be printed by the bailiff company.

WARRANT OF EXECUTION.

The Warrant of Execution will be on a Form 9.

Under the Code of Practice from the Traffic Enforcement Centre it states the following:

• “The warrant must be enforced as a county court warrant. The certificated bailiff must have the warrant in his personal possession when he visits a person or premises with a view to enforcing it and he must produce it on demand to anyone who has reasonable grounds to see it”

If you have received notification from a Bailiff that they have a warrant in respect of an unpaid PCN, our advice is that you must immediately telephone the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court on : 0845 704 5007. There are two reasons for this.

Firstly, you need to ask the exact date on which the Warrant was issued. This is because a Warrant is valid for only 12 months from the date of issue. The Traffic Enforcement Centre’s computer system will “automatically” mark a warrant as expired if one year and seven days has elapsed since the date it was issued onto the system. (The additional seven days is to allow for posting and drawing up of the warrant).A warrant cannot be renewed.

Unfortunately however this information is not given to the bailiff, and we are constantly hearing of bailiff’s attempting to enforce warrants that are in excess of this with some being 2 or 3 years old!!! This is illegal.

Please be aware that once a warrant of execution has been authorised by the TEC you cannot file a statutory declaration. Instead, you have to file a Statutory Declaration “out of Time”.

CAN I APPEAL TO THE ADJUDICATOR?

For the period 2005/06 the number of applicants that took their complaints to the adjudicator is as shown below.

Parking 48,277

Bus Lane 2,774

Moving Traffic 1,610

Lorry Ban 102
Total 52,764
You have every right to appeal to the independent Parking Adjudicator but the following must apply:
An important point that must be made clear is that if you have already paid, then you are deemed to have given up your right to appeal to the adjudicator. There have been a number of rare exceptions to this, so our advice would be to contact the adjudicator’s office to enquire further.
This is not the case where your vehicle may have been clamped. This is because you would have paid the PCN and a release fee before the vehicle was returned to you.
You cannot appeal to the adjudicators unless you have received a ‘Notice of Rejection of Representations’ from the council that issued the Penalty Charge Notice and also the Notice to Owner (NtO).

GROUNDS FOR APPEALING AGAINST THE PENALTY CHARGE NOTICE.

The Road Traffic Act 1991 details the legal grounds which you can use for making a representation against a Penalty Charge Notice. In the event that the council rejects your representation, these same grounds can be used in the event that you wish the matter to be taken to the adjudicator.
The grounds for representation (and appeal) against a Penalty Charge Notice are as follows:
1. The alleged parking contravention did not occur.
2. The penalty charge, (or release or storage charge), exceeded the relevant amount.
3. The Traffic Regulation Order was invalid.
4. You were not the owner of the vehicle when the alleged contravention occurred.
5. When the vehicle was parked it had been taken without your consent.
6. You are a hire company and have supplied the hirer’s name and address.

If the vehicle has been clamped or removed, ground (4) above does not apply, but the following, additional grounds apply:

1. The vehicle was clamped or removed when a disabled person’s badge was on display.
2. The vehicle was clamped or removed when less than 15 minutes had elapsed since the paid time expired. You should offer any evidence in your possession that may support your case. This may include copies of any pay and display tickets, photographs or even witness statements. Do not send originals…and keep a copy.
Description of the grounds of appeal:
The alleged parking contravention did not occur.
This may include situations where your vehicle was exempt from the regulations for particular reasons – for example, loading or unloading was taking place. Other circumstances where this ground may be valid include where a PCN was allegedly issued too early by the Parking Attendant or where a vehicle was displaying a valid permit, ticket, badge etc. Click here to see a complete list of the Contravention Codes