Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi - I just found out that I had received a PCN from Hackney Council for '52m Failing to comply with a prohibition on certain types of vehicle (motor vehicles)'

I'm from Bristol, was driving to a job in Stoke Newington and was actually looking for a way to get into Bouverie road, which has a no-entry camera (probably a LTN thing). It's super annoying to get this when I was already trying to find a way into the road which wouldn't involved getting caught by a camera.

See here for the PCN images
https://imgur.com/a/sITbKIF

To view images, go here:
https://hackney.gov.uk/menu/#parking-and-transport
PCN no. QZ14186291
Reg. CP12 ZGV

The video does not play for some reason.

The PCN was issued to my previous address - only found out about this as a friend now lives at that address.

It's likely a case of having updated my driving license, but not updated the V5C.
I have now updated V5C as of today.

Please can I have some advice on appealing the PCN?

- How possible is it to appeal given I don't live in London, and unfamiliar with this unclear and draconian driving penalties?

- OR is it possible to appeal to pay the £65 reduced fee, given that the PCN was not received until it was past the 14 day window.

The sum is currently set to £195 which is a punishment that far outweighs any wrongdoing.

many thanks

- How possible is it to appeal given I don't live in London, and unfamiliar with this unclear and draconian driving penalties?

For one thing you don't have to worry about that. Representations to the council are all done online, and any tribunal hearing can be attended by telephone. If we feel you have a viable case, one of us will normally offer to represent you at the tribunal hearing (either by phone or those of us who live in London might just go to the hearing centre).

Here's the video:



You'll see the money from the penalties being put to good use with some nice woke rainbows on the road surface.

The traffic order is The Hackney (Prescribed Routes and 20 Mph Speed Limit) (Consolidation No.1) Order 2019 as amended by The Hackney (Prescribed Routes and 20 MPH Speed Limit) (Amendment No.61) Order 2023.

@Incandescent has explained the procedure you need to follow however he's referenced the wrong form, for a London moving traffic contravention you need to use form PE3: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-pe3-challenge-an-unpaid-penalty-charge-notice

Once the amount due on https://parkingdisputes.hackney.gov.uk/pcnonline/ goes up to £204 you know the debt has been registered with TEC, so at that point you can file a statutory declaration. While you can print the form yourself without waiting to receive one in the post, you can't just sign it: you will need to sign it in front of a court officer or a magistrates at your local county court or magistrates' court, this is free but you will have to make an appointment beforehand. Or any high-street solicitor can witness the declaration for around £10.

Once you've made the declaration and it's been counter-signed by whoever witnessed you make the declaration, scan it and email it to tec@justice.gov.uk with the PCN number in the subject line.

Come back here once you've done all that and we'll confirm what the next steps are.

IMPORTANT: Please film the opening of the next two envelopes you get from the council, this is because the Order for Recovery is required to contain a copy of the original PCN. If we can prove that a copy of the original PCN was not in the same envelope as the Order for Recovery, that immediately provides a ground of appeal.

If you have any questions, please ask.

Why can't TEC just fix on one form for everything, and the applicant just crosses out the inapplicable bits I fail to see !

Can you imagine the volume of problems we'd have with people crossing out the wrong bits? We'd have to have a whole sub-forum just for that. The real solution would be for parliament to allow a WS for everything, but it's hardly a high priority on the legislative agenda.

Thank you both for your responses - very useful information. I had already sort of lost hope given that I had missed the appeal deadline, so knowing more about the process is very helpful.

I will film the opening of any letters yet to arrive in case the OfR doesn't contain the PCN (guess the fact that I've now updated my V5C to the new address won't make any difference- they will keep using the original address?)

I'll go ahead and start filling in the TE3 form.

Re. dates I may receive the OfR - having looked again at the Hackney PCN detail (see here https://imgur.com/a/09laSG7)
it looks like this may be on or after 18th September? Or is this unrelated to TEC's side of things?

thanks again.

Hi quick update - I'm filling out the PE3 form, and this is what I've put in the appeal box.

I'm aware that this form is more for the fact that I didn't get the PCN in time to make an appeal, but I thought it was worth adding my appeal info for the original contravention.
I'm aware they may not give a damn about my reasons, but could you give your thoughts on this please?
Anything that might help me with some kind of reasonable / compassionate response to this unclear yet strictly enforced traffic system.
thanks (sorry for the Caps - the form says I had to write in caps)

I DID NOT RECEIVE THE PCN UNTIL AFTER THE 28 DAY APPEAL WINDOW HAD PASSED. IT WAS SENT TO
MY OLD ADDRESS. I ONLY FOUND OUT ABOUT IT AFTER THE OWNER GOT IN TOUCH TO SAY I HAD A
FEW LETTERS.
I HAVE SINCE FOUND OUT THAT EVEN THOUGH I UPDATED MY DRIVING LICENCE TO MY NEW ADDRESS,
THE V5C HAD NOT BEEN UPDATED, AND THIS IS WHY IT WAS SENT TO MY OLD ADDRESS. I’VE HEARD
THIS IS COMMON AND CATCHES A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT.
ON DISCOVERING THIS IMMEDIATELY WENT AND UPDATED MY V5C DETAILS TO MY CURRENT ADDRESS.

ON THE DATE OF THE CONTRAVENTION, I DROVE FROM MY HOME IN BRISTOL TO A JOB IN LONDON.
ON ARRIVAL I SAW THAT THERE WAS A SOME KIND OF ‘NO ENTRY TO TRAFFIC’ SIGN TO
BOUVERIE ROAD, WHERE MY JOB WAS LOCATED.
SO TO AVOID THIS I DROVE DOWN STOKE NEWINGTON CHURCH STREET TRYING TO FIND A ROUTE TO ENTER BOUVERIE ROAD FROM THE OTHER END (GRAYLING ROAD). WHILST TRYING TO FIND THIS ROUTE I UNWITTINGLY DROVE THROUGH THIS OTHER SIGN AND WAS CAUGHT ON THE CAMERA. THIS MAKES ME FEEL THAT IN LONDON, AS A DRIVER ‘YOU JUST CAN’T WIN’ AND WILL INEVITABLY BE CAUGHT FOR SOMETHING.
SO ESSENTIALLY WHILST TRYING TO COMPLY WITH STRICTLY ENFORCED YET UNCLEAR RULES IN AN UNFAMILIAR NEIGHBOURHOOD, I GOT CAUGHT ANYWAY.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW THIS IS JUSTIFIED PLEASE?

DESPITE FEELING LIKE I HAVE BEEN UNFAIRLY PUNISHED,  I AM HAPPY TO PAY THE £65 FEE ORIGINALLY REQUESTED AND JUST GET IT OVER WITH.
PLEASE CAN YOU HELP ME TO GET TO THIS STAGE.

Hi quick update - I'm filling out the PE3 form, and this is what I've put in the appeal box.

I'm aware that this form is more for the fact that I didn't get the PCN in time to make an appeal, but I thought it was worth adding my appeal info for the original contravention.

No! Do not do that!

If you add anything into the reasons box, TEC will simply reject the form as being improperly completed. Also TEC do not give a damn about the merits of the PCN, they don't care as it's nothing to do with them whether the PCN is upheld or not.

The debt is still showing as £195 on the council website, so you can't send form PE3 to TEC as it will simply get rejected, and then you'll end up having to do it again.

Please follow the advice given and simply tick the box to say you didn't get the original PCN.

Unless / until the amount due goes up to £204, you don't need to do anything. If you want to double-check whether the debt is registered with TEC, you can ring them to find out, their contact details are here: https://www.find-court-tribunal.service.gov.uk/courts/traffic-enforcement-centre-tec

You'll need to make an appointment with your local county court to get the form sworn, do not sign it at home (if you do, you'll just be told to fill it in again).

Do not pay anyone offering to do your PE forms.

OK so this would explain it... I received a letter today to my current address, with the same PCN as before.

Show us this document. It is almost certainly an unlawful document but unfortunately for whatever reason you seem to be believing everything the council tell you, hook line & sinker.

Also please stop typing in all caps, you can use indent tags or italics or whatever else.