Perhaps an OOT along the following lines...
On *** I was contacted via text message by enforcement agents acting on behalf of the Claimant, City of London Corporation, regarding a postal PCN issued under the London Local Authorities Act 2003 in May 2022.
I had not received the PCN and therefore in June 2022 the authority issued a Charge Certificate to which I responded immediately. I received an automated response stating that the authority's normal practice was 'to respond within 15 days, although we might take longer during busy periods'.
They must have been busy because 15 weeks later I received a reply which in essence stated that I should wait for them to issue an Order for Recovery following which I could submit a Statutory Declaration to yourselves.
I therefore waited, and waited, and waited. In effect life events took over and I had also moved house before the authority issued the OfR on 29 November 2023. I repeat, 29 November 2023, virtually 1 year to the day since stating in their last letter 'please do not reply to this letter but await the Order for Recovery which will be issued in due course'.
I submit that the authority's actions have been neither fair nor reasonable in this matter and that their inexcusable delays have prejudiced my position to such an extent that I am now reliant upon your offices to reset the matter to at least provide me with a fair opportunity to challenge the PCN.
I respectfully ask that you accept my late Statutory Declaration for the reasons given above.
The above details were obtained pursuant to a Subject Access Request submitted by me immediately after being contacted by the authority's agents and are attached.
Wait for comments.