Dear Sir or Madam,
I wish to challenge the above PCN on the following grounds:
1. The PCN Does Not Contain the Mandatory Wording Required by Law
Section 4(
(v) of the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003 requires the PCN to state that an increased charge may be payable if the penalty is not paid within 28 days beginning with the date of the notice.
Your PCN instead states:
If you fail to pay the Penalty Charge or make representations before 28 days beginning with the date of service, an increased charge of £240 may be payable.
This is wrong because:
it uses the wrong statutory time period (date of service, not date of notice),
it wrongly links the increased charge to a failure to make representations,
it conflates two statutory periods using or, creating ambiguity, and
it does not include the mandatory wording required by statute.
A PCN missing required information is legally defective and invalid.
2. Signage is Inadequate and Unsafe at the Location
The restriction sign on Sydney Road is placed at an abnormally high level, and is not visible to drivers turning right.
At the point a driver must decide, they must also:
avoid stopping in the yellow box junction,
monitor oncoming traffic,
complete the turn safely.
It is not possible to safely look upward at a sign placed outside the normal viewing height.
The signage is therefore not sufficiently clear or conspicuous, and the contravention is not enforceable.
3. The Photographic and Video Evidence is Blurry and Does Not Show the Sign
The images and footage provided both in the posted PCN and online are unclear, blurred, and do not show the sign or its wording.
If the enforcement camera cannot capture the sign legibly, a moving driver cannot reasonably be expected to read it.
The evidence does not prove the restriction or the contravention.
4. The Penalty Exceeds the Amount Due Because the PCN is Not Lawfully Issued
Due to the statutory defects in the PCN wording and inadequate signage, the penalty exceeds the amount applicable in the circumstances.
Conclusion
For the reasons above, the PCN must be cancelled.
If the Council does not accept this challenge, please provide the full evidence pack, including:
full-resolution video,
all still images,
the Traffic Management Order,
camera calibration records, and
photographs showing the height and placement of the signage.
