- I thought I'd registered my new address on my V5C. I tried doing this a couple of months ago shortly before my father died
So when did he die ? We need to relate this to the PCN date to see how much time difference there is between you trying to update your V5 and the date of your father's death, and the date of the PCN itself. Worst case we've seen recently is failure to update the V5 for 8 years ! Clearly this OP is a no-hoper !
How did you attempt to update the V5, online ?
The plain fact is that bailiffs are very diligent at tracking people down, as their livelihood depends on it, so they'll no doubt find you eventually, and the £500 could well have increased.
The only avenue open to you to revert the matter back to the Notice to Owner, or PCN stage is to submit a Statutory Declaration to the Traffic Enforcement Centre that you never received the PCN/NtO. Because this submission is out-of-time, the council that issued the PCN can object to it, and they inevitably do so, and then TEC reject your submission. YOu can request a review by a county court judge ((about £160 for papers-based review, and £260 for an interview with the judge "in chambers"). These figures are approximate BTW, and the sums are not recoverable.
ONe point to bear in mind is that even if you pay the bailiffs, you can still submit an OOT SD, as payment does not close it off. You may well serve yourself best by arranging a payment schedule with the bailiffs.
BTW, bailiifadviceonline is very good but likely to be busy. Four days is not a long time.
