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Adjudicator's Reasons
Mr Moran paid the £3 crossing charge at 23:20 on 14 January 2018, which was a day later than the time required for payment. However, on 19 January 2018 Dart Charge sent him a penalty charge notice stating he should pay either £38 within 14 days or £73 within 28 days.

Mr Moran made representations saying he had paid the crossing charge and produced the
receipt for payment.

Dart Charge rejected the representations saying, “Our investigations show that whilst you did make payment of the RUC in respect of the above contravention, this payment was not made until after midnight on the day following your crossing.” They therefore accepted that the crossing was paid, but they go on to say. “Your late payment(s) will be held as credit against your vehicle for future crossing(s). You must now make payment for the full amount outstanding in respect of the above mentioned PCN(s), including the original road user charge, as shown at
the bottom of this notice.”. The amount payable at the end of the Notice of Rejection is £73.

Regulations 7(3)(g) and (f) require the penalty charge notice to state:
(f) the amount of penalty charge that is payable if the penalty charge is paid in full—
(i) within 14 days of the day on which the penalty charge notice is served;
(ii) after the expiry of such 14 day period but within 28 days of the day on which the penalty charge notice is
served;
(iii) after the service of a charge certificate;
(g) the manner in which the penalty charge must be paid and the address to which payment of the penalty charge
must be sent.

The clear intention is to set out clearly the amount of the penalty charge to be paid, and give equally clear instructions as to how to pay the relevant amount.

While the PCN in this case dealt with the amounts of the penalty charge, according to when
they would be paid, it also stipulated that:
“In addition to the penalty charge you must also pay the applicable road user charge of £3.”
And the PCN further required Mr Moran to pay £38 or £73 (the relevant penalty charge with
£3 added), without an option to pay just the penalty charge.

There is no power in Regulation 7 for the PCN to require the road user charge to be paid in
addition to the penalty charge. Nor is there a power for the charging authority to refuse to
allocate a payment made for a crossing to that crossing, and hold it, possibly indefinitely, for
future use. (my bold)

It is not in dispute that Mr Moran had paid the £3 crossing charge, as evidenced by his receipt
dated 14 January 2018 for the £3 payment, and accepted by Dart Charge. It is all very well to set out the amounts of the penalty charge, but the impact and effect of the PCN is to demand an amount that is in excess of the penalty charge, and it implies that payment of £38 or £73 is the only amount that will be accepted.

The requirement for Mr Moran to pay the crossing charge in addition to the penalty charge, on both the PCN and NOR, when he had already paid it, amounts to a procedural impropriety on the part of the charging authority (known as Dart Charge). That is a ground of appeal that means that Mr Moran is not liable to pay the penalty charge. He did pay the crossing charge, albeit a day late, so he is not liable to pay that again.

Caroline Sheppard
Chief Adjudicator
13/06/2018