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Case Details
Case reference
2230446994

Appellant Commercial Plant Services Ltd
Authority London Borough of Bexley
VRM WX69 ZDE

PCN Details

PCN XL96297665
Contravention
date

04 Aug 2023

Contravention
time

07:33:00

Contravention
location

Bexley High Street

Penalty
amount

GBP 130.00

Contravention Fail comply prohibition on certain types vehicle
Referral date
Decision Date 13 Dec 2023
Adjudicator Edward Houghton
Appeal
decision

Appeal allowed

Back

Direction cancel the Penalty Charge Notice.
Reasons
I heard this appeal by telephone speaking to the Appellants’ representative Mr Murray Smith.

I have considered the detailed submissions set out in his skeleton argument and the Council’s response.

I do not agree with Mr Murray Smith’s submission that the Council could not have reason to believe that the vehicle exceeded the weight limit until it had obtained details from the DVLA. The vehicle is clearly a very sizeable HGV and has every appearance of exceeding the limit-which in my view amounts to a good reason to believe that it does so.

However It seems to me that his submission that the PCN is defective is based on firmer ground. The PCN does indeed state that “any representations received by this authority outside the 28-day period mentioned above may be disregarded”. The 28-day period mentioned above is 28 days from the date of the notice; however the period required to be stated (under the terms of Schedule 1 Para 3 London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003) is 28 days from the date of service of the Notice. The wording used by the Council truncates the time allowed for making representations by two days. It is a well- known problem arising from the poor drafting of the legislation that whereas a Charge Certificate can in theory be issued after the expiry of 28 days from the date of the notice, a motorist has 28 days from the date of service of the notice during which representations must be considered. However cannot avoid the problem by stating anything other than what the legislation specifically requires. As the PCN in the present case is non-compliant np penalty may be demanded on the basis of it.

The Appeal is allowed for this reason and I do not feel it necessary to come to a decision on the other issues raised on behalf of the Appellants.

Authority
Response

I certify this to be a true copy of an entry in the register

Outcome.