Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hello,

Posted this on pepipoo forum recently, but was kindly informed that things are moving over here, so here it is again!

I received a Charge Certificate from Enfield Council, stating that I have an increased charge of £195 to pay for a PCN issued back in June. Problem is, I never received the original PCN, so I had no chance to appeal or pay in the first place!

The contravention took place on the day I moved into a new house (14/06/23). The PCN was sent out on 23/06/23, and the date on my updated V5 with my current address is 21/06/23, so it should have been sent to the correct address.

I was advised to wait until an Order for Recovery is issued by the council so that I can submit a Witness Statement to the Traffic Enforcement Centre, declaring that I never received the PCN. Then the Charge Certificate should be cancelled and I will be re-issued the PCN. Is that correct?

The 14 day period has now run its course, so I will contact the TEC this week to see if the PCN has been registered with them. Hopefully I can do this before the bailiffs turn up!

Any further advice? Or does this all sound ok? Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

You need a statutory declaration rather than a witness statement, this is done using form PE3: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-pe3-challenge-an-unpaid-penalty-charge-notice

Please note although there is a "reasons" box, this must be left black, you only want to tick the box to say that you didn't receive the original PCN.

An alternative to the weekly calls to TEC is to keep checking the amount due on the council website at https://parkingservices.itsvc.co.uk/enfield/notices/ because once the debt has been registered, the amount due will jump from £195 to £204, at which point you know you can go and get the form sworn.

Don't post it, instead scan or photograph it and email it to tec@justice.gov.uk with the PCN number in the subject line.

Ok thanks for the advice! Will keep checking the amount regularly and will send the PE3 form once I see the amount has increased. Thanks!

Sorry if you've picked up on this already, but you must get the form sworn either in court by a solicitor. Some people make the mistake of just signing it and emailing it off and it just gets rejected.

Ah yes, I'll make sure to do that thanks!

Sorry to use "Witness Statement".CP8759 is correct. The form is PE3 and you only find out it is called a Statutory Declaration when you open the actual form on the TEC website !

Is there a time limit on this process? I still haven't been issued a with an Order for Recovery and have had no further communication from the council at all. I don't really want this dragging on - keep expecting bailiffs to turn up unannounced some day!

Should I contact the council or just ignore the whole thing? It's been 10 months since the contravention, and 6 months since the letter they sent.

Thanks!

There is no time limit, but are you continuing to check whether the PCN has been registered ? Might be worth contacting the council to find out why they are being so dilatory.

I need to contact them by phone by the look of things, or I'll be stuck in limbo for the foreseeable!

Limbo isn't a bad place, if it takes over four months to progress matters then once you get to the tribunal, you have an additional ground of appeal of undue delay as per Paul Richard Davis v The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (1970198981, 30 March 1998)

The council will send you a new PCN, which you can then challenge by making representations.

One way to make sure there are no postal issues is to check the council website on a regular basis, once the PCN has been reissued the amount due will drop to £65 and at that point you can make representations even if you have not yet received the PCN in the post.

Here's the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq_j_3EahxY

The location is here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/eiyriTVpYgniuyUv5

Are you able to check for any advance warning signs on Park Avenue? If there are none then there is an arguable challenge to the adequacy of the signage.

In the meantime I'll get hold of the traffic order.