Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi everyone,

I would appreciate some feedback on a PE2 and TE9 application I’m preparing for the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC), based on my situation. I want to make sure I am presenting things correctly.

Background:

I received a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) from West Berkshire Council in late 2024 and appealed it by email on 5 December 2024, stating I would wait for the Notice to Owner (NTO) to contest it further. I never received the NTO, Charge Certificate, or Order for Recovery at my address. I only became aware of the seriousness of the situation on 9 June 2025.

I corresponded initially and followed the process correctly, but no further documents arrived.

Circumstances:

During this period, I was dealing with the bereavement of our three-month-old son, who passed away in late October 2024. Naturally, this was a very challenging time and affected my ability to stay on top of administrative matters.

In addition, we had to move rental properties because our landlord sold the previous property, meaning we were already at our second address since relocating to the UK from South Africa. Although I updated my UK driver’s licence address with the DVLA early on, I was unaware that updating the vehicle’s V5C (logbook) was a separate process. Due to this oversight, the council correspondence may have been sent to a previous rental address.

As soon as I became aware of the situation, I prepared the TE9 and PE2 forms and am now seeking advice before submitting them.


Grounds:

I am filing the witness statement (TE9) on the basis that I did not receive the Notice to Owner (NTO). In the PE2, I explain that the missed correspondence was due to a combination of circumstances: An administrative oversight (we updated our driver’s licence address but didn’t realise the V5C logbook needed a separate update), and personal circumstances (bereavement and a house move).

These factors contributed to both not receiving the council's notices and the delay in discovering the situation.

Questions:

Does this explanation sound reasonable and likely to be accepted by TEC?
Is there anything I should add or reword to strengthen the application without over-complicating it?
Any thoughts or advice would be really appreciated

Thank you in advance.

Yes, I’ve confirmed that the Order for Recovery was issued some time ago, and I’m preparing to submit both the TE9 (Witness Statement) and the PE2 (Application to file out of time) together.

I haven’t seen the documents myself, so I have correspondence from West Berkshire Council, which said:

“We have sent out numerous correspondence to you, including a Notice to Owner, a Charge Certificate and an Order for Recovery.
The option for you now is to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre and request to make a Late Witness Statement.”

I understand there is a risk that the council may object, and that if they do, the TE9 could be refused by TEC, leaving me with the option to request a review by a county court judge at my own expense.

I’m hopeful, though, as my situation involves genuine grounds.

If I have communicated all that I have mentioned, have I missed anything that should be included and must I just go ahead and submit or am I making some mistakes here? Thanks for your help.

I completely understand and agree, so I want to prepare the best I can. Thank you for your assistance.

So:
You immigrated when;
Your rental property dates;
Your V5C dates;

• Immigration was two years ago (August, so 2023) / I am only referring to this as the UK is new to us, hence updated DVLA, not VC5.
• Took occupancy from 2nd August 2024
• VC5 Dates (Perhaps a month or so ago), I am looking for the exact date to confirm but lets go with that for now. will find exact date for the application
• Lost my son at the end of October 2024
• PCN only issues in November 17th (when the parking offence happened)

I hope that helps.

OK, we're starting to get the picture.

Next for me is: I only became aware of the seriousness of the situation on 9 June 2025.

Pl explain.

You're Out of Time anyway, so whether you submit a WS now or in a week doesn't matter UNLESS where you are in the process could see further bailiff fees added to the debt unless you act promptly.

The enforcement process continues after an Order for Recovery with the authority obtaining a warrant of control from the court and instructing bailiffs to execute which they do by issuing a Notice of Enforcement to the person named on the warrant. Given that the authority did not get responses to the NTO, CC and OfR, plus any other extra-procedural correspondence they might have sent then (because these were all sent to the V5C registered keeper at the V5C address) the bailiff should have carried out a trace before issuing a Notice of Enforcement which increases the debt by £75 and gives you 7 days to pay. After this they could seize your goods and add another £235 to the debt.

So, how did you become aware? Have you* received any correspondence at where you now live, and if so, what?

*- to be clear, you are/were the registered keeper of the car in question?

Thank you for the detailed explanation, that’s very helpful. Happy to clarify how I became aware of the situation:

The PCN was initially issued by a council traffic warden (not the police) in person, as a parking ticket. I appealed the PCN promptly in December 2024, explaining the situation, but West Berkshire Council upheld the fine. I then stated I would wait for the formal Notice to Owner (NTO), as advised in forums such as MoneySavingExpert, to continue the process through the correct legal channel.

I didn’t receive any of the expected follow-up notices (NTO, Charge Certificate, or Order for Recovery), so I assumed the process was still pending or delayed, especially since I had read that delays are common.  I only became aware of the seriousness of the matter on 9 June 2025, when our former letting agent contacted me to say that multiple letters had arrived for me at our previous rental property. That was when I realised the process had escalated without my knowledge.

We now know that the letters went to our old address because the vehicle’s V5C logbook hadn’t been separately updated at the time. We had updated our driver’s licence shortly after moving to a new address, but didn’t realise the V5C needed to be changed independently.

Since becoming aware on 9 June, I’ve acted immediately, preparing the PE2 and TE9 and clarifying the situation with the Traffic Enforcement Centre.
To confirm: yes, I am (or my wife is) the registered keeper of the vehicle in question.

We have not received any formal correspondence at our current address. Although our address is now up to date, the most recent letter (Order for Recovery) was still sent to the old property.

Sorry for delay - I did not know someone had responded

Thanks for the follow-up. Unfortunately, I’m not able to provide the actual Order for Recovery. As mentioned earlier, it, along with the NTO and Charge Certificate, was sent to a previous rental address listed on the V5C logbook at the time.

I only became aware of the seriousness of the situation on 9 June 2025, when our former letting agent contacted me to say that several letters had arrived at our old address. I then reached out to West Berkshire Council, who confirmed that the Order for Recovery had been issued, along with earlier notices, and that my only option now was to apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre using a late witness statement (PE2/TE9).

I’ve asked both the agent and the council for a copy of the letter(s), but I haven't had any luck so far. I don’t have the exact date the Order for Recovery was issued, only confirmation of its existence and that I am now out of time.

If anyone knows of a formal way to obtain the exact date, I’d appreciate it. In the meantime, I’m submitting PE2/TE9 based on the information I have and the date I became aware of the issue.

Thank you again for the guidance so far, but this is why the situation is so challenging. I do not have the information to take action.

I’ll contact them tomorrow and see what they can provide.

Can I ask why we need exact dates? Excuse my ignorance but is it to obtain if it’s recent or not and that might help ones favour . I am unsure so curious .

I won’t submit anything yet. I was more alluding to that being my next move so I can prepare the best case possible.

Ah ha . I see I was working with the form for london. I have the right one now and I’ll submit when the time comes . First stop , west Berkshire council to get dates .