Free Traffic Legal Advice

Any help appreciated!

My car has been clamped this morning, and I received a Warning of Immobilisation saying that I have to pay £515 to lift. When I called the enforcement agency, they said it was in relation to a driving violation (driving down a one way street), back in April 2024. I didn't ever receive the PCN or any further notices.

In April I had a Royal Mail forward on my address for a few months as I was temporarily staying away from my permanent residence (DVLA says you don't have to notify temporary changes) but I didn't receive the PCN at either address, and haven't received anything since then.

I can't raise a complaint, as I don't have a PCN number, and I saw on Reddit that councils say as long as the letter containing the PCN wasn't returned to sender then it's counted as having been received.

Does anyone have any advice of how I might be able to contest?

Thank you!

My numberplate is EO12 WYR

My car has been clamped at my new permanent address.

In terms of timelines:

I had a postal redirect set up from my permanent address to my temporary address January 10th to 9th July. They said the penalty was issued in April 2024 so should have been sent to my temp address via redirect.

From 9th July-16th September I was back at the permanent address, and then from 16th September I moved and as part of that changed my permanent address with DVLA etc from 16th September onwards.

Best delete your address - I was just after where the car has been clamped and that's at a new address.

I presume the V5C logbook did have your old permanent address correctly before you changed it last month?
Do you still have the old logbook?

You did the right thing with a mail redirect - did other letters arrive via this?

If you get hold of Southwark ask them to say what address they sent the PCN to.

OP, there is a prescribed process which you must follow which is to submit an 'out-of-time' (OOT) application to the Traffic Enforcement Centre(TEC) to do which you need to know the PCN number because without knowing the contravention we couldn't tell you which of the alternative OOT forms to complete.

Southwark could give you the number and so could CDER because it would have been included in their Notice of Enforcement

This would give us access to the PCN history e.g. dates on which the various notices were issued etc. on the council website.

If your car under finance has been clamped on private property that is not your home, the bailiff is breaching regulations, giving you grounds for court intervention.

If your address has changed, identify which council (Southwark?) the bailiff is acting for and request the PCN number. Using this number, contact the Traffic Enforcement Centre at 0300 123 1059, providing the postcode from your previous address in the security check. If successful, the warrant may be a "defective instrument".

Before applying for court intervention, give the bailiff and the council a Rule 6 Notice of Application to allow the bailiff to remove the clamp.

Please confirm the address on the warrant, ownership, and location of the clamped vehicle for further advice.

Just looking at this in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/15/schedule/12

It says here: -
Goods which may be taken
9An enforcement agent may take control of goods only if they are—

(a)on premises that he has power to enter under this Schedule, or

(b)on a highway.

The Traffic Enforcement Centre confirmed the Warrant of Control lists your old address, making it defective. This explains why you were unaware of the debt until bailiffs located your vehicle using an ANPR camera.

To demand the immediate release of your vehicle, send a Rule 6 notice to Southwark Council, copying the bailiff company.

The enforcement breaches Paragraph 66 of Schedule 12 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, allowing you to seek damages or obtain a court order for vehicle release under sections 3 and 4 of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977.

The incorrect address also means you didn't receive a Notice of Enforcement (NOE) before clamping, giving you another basis to claim damages.

Once notice is given and the clamp removed, the bailiff has no further action available.

Drafting a notice is beyond the scope of this website, but searching online for "bailiffs clamped vehicle defective instrument" may provide examples.

We don't why the OP didn't get any letters despite a redirection.

OP, was the logbook in your name as well as the address?

Something doesn't seem right.

PCN date: 22 April 2024.