Car Parking Tickets
Car Parking Tickets
or Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs)
Different rules apply if you received a police-issued car parking ticket (Fixed
Penalty Notice or FPN) or were clamped or towed away.
Car Parking tickets are usually issued by a parking attendant at the scene. They
may, however, be sent to the owner of the vehicle by post, for example if the
contravention was observed using a CCTV camera.
Do not ignore car parking tickets. They may carry extra penalties if not paid
(or contested) promptly. In order to qualify for a discount, payment must be received
by the council within 14 days. A payment slip accompanies the ticket - if you
wish to pay the ticket but have lost the payment slip contact the council.
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Full compliance report set out by the Citizens Advice Bureau
(CAB)
The ticket will show the alleged contravention, plus the date, time and location.
If you feel it was wrongly issued, or that there are special circumstances in
your case, you should write to the council. They may cancel the ticket, or turn
down your case and inform you about your rights to take the matter further. If
you write to the council promptly they will usually give you another opportunity
to pay at the reduced rate even if they turn down your case.
If you wish to preserve your right to appeal against the ticket you should not
pay the penalty. Paying a PCN will usually result in the case being closed. If
you are not the registered keeper of the vehicle, let the keeper know they should
expect a ‘Notice to Owner’ demanding payment of the penalty. Ask them not to pay
when they recieve the ‘Notice to Owner’ but to make ‘Representations’ instead.
Notice to owner
If a car parking ticket isn’t paid within 28 days a ‘Notice to Owner’ is sent
to the keeper registered at DVLA (regardless of who was driving). It should normally
be served within 6 months of the ticket. The ‘Notice to Owner’ provides you with
an opportunity to either pay the outstanding penalty or make formal ‘representations‘.
The penalty needs to be paid or representations made within 28 days. If you do
not make representations within 28 days the council can disregrard them. Do not
hand the Notice to Owner to the driver – if the driver does not pay the Car Parking
ticket, you could be liable for an increased charge and lose the opportunity to
appeal.
If you make a case under one of the statutory grounds the council should cancel
the ‘Notice to Owner’. If none of the statutory grounds apply to your case you
can still make representations to the council and ask them to take other circumstances
into account. The council is not obliged to waive the penalty, but they may do
so in exceptional circumstances.
The Road Traffic Act makes the owner, not the driver, liable for most parking
penalties.
Representations
Having considered your Representation the council will send you a ‘Notice of Acceptance
of Representations’ if they agree you should not pay the penalty. The council
will send you a ‘Notice of Rejection of Representations’ if they feel you should
pay.
If you receive a ‘Notice of Rejection of Representations’ you must either pay
the penalty or appeal to an independent Parking Adjudicator within 28 days using
the appeal form provided with the Notice of Rejection. See below for how to appeal.
Statutory Grounds to Challenge a PCN (Car Parking Ticket) or
NtO
The contravention did not occur
For example : the contravention (as described on the ticket) did not happen; the
parking restriction was not properly signed ; the reason for stopping was lawful
in the circumstances (eg vehicle broken down or stopped briefly to pick up passengers).
If you can you should submit evidence to support your claim (eg. if claiming you
stopped to unload goods, send a copy of any delivery note).
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The penalty exceeded the relevant Amount
For example : you are being asked to pay the wrong amount ; the parking ticket
was not correctly issued ; the council claims you paid less (or later) than you
did.
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The
Traffic management Order was invalid.
This applies if the traffic management order is defective.
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The
parking attendant was not prevented from serving the Car Parking Ticket.
This applies when the council sent the PCN to you by post because it claims that
the parking attendant was prevented by someone from issuing it at the scene.
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I
was not the owner of the vehicle at the time
For example : the vehicle was sold before the contravention occurred. If you can
you should submit evidence to support your claim (eg copy of letter to DVLA, cancelled
insurance etc).
The two cases when the owner is not liable for penalties are :
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The
vehicle was parked by someone in control of the vehicle without my consent
For example : the vehicle was illegally parked after being stolen. If you can
you should submit evidence to support your claim (eg letter from police showing
crime report number or copy of insurance claim).
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We
are a hire company and have provided details of the hirer’s name and address.
This only applies to hire companies where the hirer has signed a suitable agreement
accepting liability for penalty charges.
Making a false statement or presenting false evidence to a council or an Adjudicator
when making a Representation or an Appeal is a criminal offence carrying with
it a maximum fine £5,000
PCN
Contravention Codes – On Street Parking
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