Free Traffic Legal Advice

You need to go through your images at ibb and replace the HTML links with the BBcodes (copy from the 2nd link beneath the image at ibb and paste them directly into your post, so



Also reinstate yr PCN number and Reg Mark.

This is not a Penalty Charge Notice, it is an Excess Charge Notice, and there are a load of regulations at the top of the ECN that need to be looked at. If I can, I'll try to have a look tomorrow. Certainly a Notice to Owner is normally only served after a PCN has been served. I have my suspicions that the people contracted to manage parking, (NSL Services Group)  are confused and have got the process completely wrong, but it may be me who's wrong !

Having had a quick look through the regulations, there is absolutely nothing in them relating to a Notice to Owner. The Regulations are not part of any decriminalised legislation. The Act in use in England is the Traffic Management Act 2004, but the Royal Park regulations are ordered under Section 62 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act, which empowers the government to make regulations for the Royal Parks. This includes the parking charges and excess charges. This is the regulations: -
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/993/made
There have been several amendments over the years since, such as to increase the parking charges, but the basic regulations remain.
It's not clear if non=payment of an Excess Charge can be dealt with in the County Court, or at a Magistrates Court. I suspect it would be dealt with in a County Court as a debt.

 

OP, IMO nothing has changed. The excess charge is payable by

Excess charge
7.—(1) An excess charge of £30* shall be payable, in accordance with paragraph (2), in respect of any vehicle which is allowed to remain parked in contravention of regulation 3 or 4.

(2) The excess charge shall be paid to the Secretary of State, or to a person authorised by the Secretary of State to receive such charge on his behalf, by the person who parked the vehicle in the Park within 14 days of the date of a written demand for the same.

(3) Payment of the excess charge in accordance with paragraph (2) shall preclude proceedings being commenced for contravention of regulation 3 or 4.


*- increased to £80 on 2010.

If you weren't driving then this is a defence against any claim against you, should you get one. I say should you get one because you've posted an ECN, but it's not for you, it's for the driver. Therefore it's for the driver to decide. If the driver is also the registered keeper and if a demand - they refer to NTO but there's no such beast under these regulations- is issued to the RK then they should come back here.

As regards the underlying failure to comply with the regulations which were communicated via the sign, this is correct: payment was required but not made. Had the driver looked diligently they would have found the machine.

At this stage the person holding the ECN could hardly challenge that they weren't!

If you were also the driver (which I assume you were because otherwise how would the unknown - to NSL- RK have possession of an ECN left on a vehicle) then this is prudent. If you were not the driver then you have the choice.

These Royal Parks ECNs used to crop up on PePiPoo every so often. As I recall they were originally issued by the Royal Parks Police, who were subsequently merged with the Metropolitan Police. The Met Commissioner has now disbanded the Royal Parks Police.

Non-payment led to a charge in the Magistrate's Court. Somewhere along the way the administration and collection of parking fees and penalty charges was farmed out to NSL.

As I recall the standing advice was to pay up whilst you had a discount option. This was because it was virtually impossible to fight in the Magistrate's Court.

Below is an extract of the NSL rejection from earlier this year in a Royal Parks case here on FTLA. There is no mention of the Magistrate's Court or the County Court. Maybe the Court proceedings are implied (hidden) within the word "progression".

"I have carefully considered the points you have raised in your challenge but have decided not to cancel your Excess Charge Notice.

You are, therefore, requested to comply with the Excess Charge Notice. However, the reduced charge of £40.00 will still be accepted provided payment is received within 14 days of the date of this letter. Failure to make payment will result in the full Excess Charge Notice of £80.00 becoming due.

If you still wish to dispute this Excess Charge Notice, the DVLA registered keeper will be sent a Notice to Owner who may make formal representation against the Excess Charge Notice. Please note, the full charge of £80.00 will be applicable at the Notice to Owner stage.

Failure to make payment or submit a formal representation will result in the progression of the Excess Charge Notice resulting in the debt being passed to Trace Debt Recovery UK Ltd to recover the outstanding balance on behalf of Royal Parks. Once the debt has been passed to Trace Debt Recovery UK Ltd, we will not be able to accept any payments. You will need to contact them directly."