Unfair Penalty Charge notice and non response

bobbadog · 7 August 2007 at 2:32PM

Hiya

We got a PCN notice on our car for parking in 'red route' when in fact we were in a bay, just after a red route. The sign relating to the bay is half way up the road - no where near our house, and we didn't know not to park in it. I sent off an email, photographs etc disputing the charge to the TFL croydon council and had an automatic response saying it was being looked into (3 weeks ago).

Today i've had a notice through the door saying that the £60 fee has gone up to £120 as I didn't pay within 14 days. Not sure where I stand, as they hadn't wrote to tell me yes or no about my original point and questions. Do i have to pay it now to stop it getting even higher? Should I have also put it in writing? x

Conor_3 · 7 August 2007 at 2:58PM

The way you do it is you pay the fine and then you put in a dispute and get re-imbursed if you win. You've done it the wrong way round.

bobbadog · 7 August 2007 at 3:02PM

Conor wrote: »

The way you do it is you pay the fine and then you put in a dispute and get re-imbursed if you win. You've done it the wrong way round.

Really? Thats not how it's worded:
You may informally challenge the issue of the notice in the 28 days beginning with the date of this notice... you must ensure that the representation is recieved in the 14 day period beginning with the date of this notice' - doesnt say pay first. I have no intention of paying anything - was in a bay outside my front door

Dipak · 7 August 2007 at 3:30PM

Hi bobbadog,

What i would do is send them a letter via recorded delivery just confirming that you have emailed them and send photographic proof. Say you will ignore any letters until you have replied to either email or letter.

Ask them for their complaints procedure and make sure you follow that.

Hope that helps.

Cheers, Dipak

bobbadog · 7 August 2007 at 3:32PM

Thank you guys - am more than willing to argue my case as far as it takes - just is annoying that I have to! I want to park outside my house, damnit! Thank you xx

seftonsun · 8 August 2007 at 2:01PM

Conor wrote: »

The way you do it is you pay the fine and then you put in a dispute and get re-imbursed if you win. You've done it the wrong way round.

This is not correct. You do not pay the charge but you dispute the PCN with the issuing Authority. If they reject you contesting the validity of the PCN you will receive their decsion in the form of a Notice of Rejection (NoR). They should include with the NoR a Notice of Appeal form. If you think they are correct you pay up.

However, if you are still not satisfied you do not pay but within 28 days of the NoR being issued you complete and submit the Notice of Appeal Form to the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service (this is in London - elsewhere it is the National Parking Adjudication Service) in order to escalate your dispute. You can if you want request a personal hearing or just put everything in writing. The Adjudicator will make a decsion as to whether your appeal is allowed or rejected.

If allowed you will not have to pay. Neither will you be reimbursed for your time and inconvenience. If refused you will then have a further 28 days to pay the PCN at the full amount (no further reduction is allowed for early payment except in exceptional circumstances).

See the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service website for more information and guidance.

If you do appeal get plenty of evidence by way of photos of signs their location, etc and opt for a personal hearing. Often the issuing Authority will not attend the appeal hearing and the Adjudicator will then normally allow the appeal.

It's worth remembering though that there is nothing fair about PCNs. You have no automatic right to park anywhere, even outside your own home. So just because you feel aggrieved does not mean you are right. However, if you genuinely believe that the PCN has been issued incorrectly or unlawfully then go for it. Good luck.

Conor_3 · 8 August 2007 at 9:13PM

My mistake, sorry.

piggeh · 10 August 2007 at 9:14PM

Continue writing to them, via email or recorded delivery.

I parked in a red route and raised an informal dispute with them within the 14 days. I believe they're then supposed to freeze the charge until they at least respond. They then raised it to £100, sent them another couple of emails. They then raised it to £150. At this point I said I couldnt pay it until they addressed the points raised earlier.

Eventually I decided to offer them £50 and wrote another letter. This crossed in the post with a letter from them saying the PCN had been cancelled! Obviously I had to quickly cancel the cheque

But it's well worth challenging if you feel you have a case. If they dont respond then continue to create a trial of correspondence into them to show you've been pursuiing it and it's their own negligence that has led to the increase in fines. I didnt actually have a case but I think they cancelled because they knew they should have responded. The only response I ever got was a templated notice of rejection which didnt address the points I raised, so was a bit useless.

MarkyMarkD · 10 August 2007 at 10:37PM

You can't assume that any parking space with either yellow lines or bay markings is free for you to use. You always need to check the information plates which are not THAT far away from the space.

If you live in the road, AND the road is at least partially a "red route", I can't believe that you didn't ever bother understanding the parking arrangements before parking there.

Not bothering to check the arrangements is no defence at all to parking illegally. I reckon your chances of a successful claim are NIL so you should have just paid up.

Unfair Penalty Charge notice and non response

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