Amended PCN - Civil Enforcement Ltd

Dazza1990

Hi,

Firstly, apologies for reposting something that may have been discussed before, but I think the circumstance I'm in is quite rare.

I received a PCN from Civil Enforcement Ltd. on 14th August for parking too long in a 90min free car park. The offence was on 27/07/15 and the charge issue date was 06/08/15. Fair enough, the vehicle was in the car park for too long. The vehicle is on lease through a lease provider, by my employer. The original PCN was sent to the lease company by Civil Enforcement Ltd. and then forwarded onto myself.

When I received the PCN, I noticed that the address of the car park that the vehicle was left was incorrect. The address for the car park on the PCN was detailed, 371 Old Kent Road. The actual address for the car park is 671 Old Kent Road. Happy days, I thought. An easy get out clause for this PCN. I wrote my appeal and challenged the PCN on the grounds of a mistake made in the address of the car park. I detailed the mistake they had made and sent the letter on looking forward to their reply.

On 4th September, I received two duplicate letters through the door, addressed to myself this time, containing a PCN for the same offence. The PCN had been amended this time so that the address for the car park is now correct. The PCN number is the exact same and the issue date has been updated from 06/08/15 to 03/09/15. It seems they have read my appeal and just corrected their mistake and sent a new PCN out in response. They have sent the PCN directly to myself this time and not to the lease provider.

The problem I have now is, I don't know what to do. I was almost sure I was out of paying for this due to their mistake. I need advice from someone who knows about this, because in my head I cant help thinking that they can't do this. If my lease provider are not kept up to date, they will pay the charge and take it from my wages along with an admin fee. I've had no direct response to my appeal i sent, just this new amended PCN with a new issue date.

Can they just amend it like this? What can I do and can I get out of paying it?

Thanks,

D

Redx

its an invoice, you have helped them by correcting the address instead of getting a popla code (using the template letter) and then appealing to the Ombudsman Service via popla

if they have rejected your appeal, they should have given you a popla code , if not , appeal it using the template letter in the NEWBIES sticky thread , and get a popla code

then register the code to be able to appeal to the Ombudsman Service

they like to make errors as it makes some people into fools by correcting them, thereby handing them their details too (as you found out)

in future get better advice by checking here first

and yes they can amend an invoice, which they have done, its not as easy to get out of this trying to use clever tactics like spelling mistakes of incorrect VRN numbers or incorrect addresses

it would have been a good appeal point for popla, but you told them beforehand

so send the template letter to them to appeal the amended invoice

fisherjim

I think as redx has intimated you have fallen into their trap, and also their other trap of making out this is a parking ticket, and not what it really is a scam charge.

hoohoo

They have not changed anything by issuing a new PCN, just wasted their own money.

The rules are that the PCN must be issued within 14 days (vi ANPR). The first one was; any new one, was not.

As long as you have not stated who the driver was, you can therefore appeal as follows.

Dear CEL,

I am appealing as keeper. The charge was not a genuine pre-estimate of loss.
Please send a POPLA code if you do not agree.


The point is not to win this appeal; just to get a POPLA code and stop your lease company paying and recharging you.

Once you get your POPLA code it is a slam dunk appeal to state that the NTK was not compliant, so as keeper you are not liable.

Dazza1990

Many thanks for all the responses and guidance on what to do next.

I was about to send off an appeal as suggested, and ask for a POPLA code if unsuccessful. This morning I received a third letter through the door from CEL.

The newest letter is a 'confirmation of cancelation'. The PCN number is the same as the ones that I've been issued and the date of incident is also correct. I'm guessing this means that they've decided to cancel the charge. The letter reads as below;

"We refer to recent communications with the office in respect of the Parking Contravention Enforcement Notice. We now confirm that this notice has been cancelled."

I'll file these away safely just in case anything comes back, but I'm assuming that I don't need to do anything now.

Once again, I appreciate the help provided!