3. Blackwall Tunnel appeal rejected but no letter or notification sent
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Blackwall Tunnel appeal rejected but no letter or notification sent
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Hi All,

On 26th April 2026, I passed therough the Blackwall Tunnel at 21:56.

I attempted to pay when I returned home but could not see that I owed anything after typing in car details etc. Thinking this was strange, I screen shotted my attempts and perhaps due to tiredness etc, could not see where I should pay if I needed to. I assumed fees had been waived due to it being the the day of the London Marathon and all other free routes were unavailable and/or I had passed through during the 'Free' hours. I have not passed through this tunnel since the fees were introduced, so the payment system is alien to me.

I subsequently received a PCN, issued on 01/05/2026.

Having read that certain successes had been acheived through appeal, on 18/05/20206, I tried to submit my representation online but was given no Ref No. after submitting. Worried that there had been some sort of system error, I re-submitted it the following day, whereby I was given a Ref No. My challenge to the PCN, cited all of the reasons listed above and I added screenshots, along with time and date stamps, to prove that I did try to pay.

My challenge was rejected, however, I did not realise this until recently, when I received a Charge Certificate, Issued 03/07/2026, but not received until 07/07/2026, (I had been away but a friend had collected my post). The charge is now for Ł270.



Upon checking the TFL Website and viewing my PCN, there is a bit of a timeline listed:

03 July 2026
Charge Certificate Batched
N/A

22 May 2026
Representation submitted Under review
N/A

22 May 2026
Rejected Representation - Discount Period Reset
TfL has rejected a representation received for this PCN. The discount period has been reset for a specific duration.

19 May 2026
Email dispatched to:  Subj Representation receipted
N/A

19 May 2026
On Hold: SUS26 - Representation Received
N/A

01 May 2026
PCN Batched
N/A

After looking at previous cases, it seems unlikely that they will waive my initial fee, however, is there any way to challenge the fact that I did not receive any sort of rejection letter/email or notification of a new discount period? I also did not receive an email on 19th May, as stated above by TFL.

Many thanks in advance
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Re: Blackwall Tunnel appeal rejected but no letter or notification sent
« Reply #1 on: »
We see your situation all the time on this forum, and there is a legal path to revert the matter back to when you submitted your representations called a Statutory Declaration, (Form PE3). This facility is found in Regulation 19 ofThe Road User Charging (Enforcement and Adjudication) (London) Regulations 2001 (see top of your Enforcment Notice)

Quote
19.—(1) This regulation applies where—

(a)a county court makes an order under regulation 18;

(b)the person against whom it is made makes a statutory declaration complying with paragraph (2); and

(c)that declaration is, before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the date on which notice of the county court’s order is served on him, served on the county court which made the order.

(2) The statutory declaration must state that the person making it—

(a)did not receive the penalty charge notice in question;

(b)made representations to the charging authority concerned under regulation 13 but did not receive a notice of rejection from that authority; or

(c)appealed to an adjudicator under regulation 16 against the rejection by that authority of representations made by him under regulation 13 but had no response to the appeal.

(3) Paragraph (4) applies where it appears to a district judge, on the application of a person on whom a charge certificate has been served, that it would be unreasonable in the circumstances of his case to insist on him serving his statutory declaration within the period of 21 days allowed for by paragraph (1).

(4) Where this paragraph applies, the district judge may allow such longer period for service of the statutory declaration as he considers appropriate.

(5) Where a statutory declaration is served under paragraph (1)(c)—

(a)the order of the court shall be deemed to have been revoked;

(b)the charge certificate shall be deemed to have been cancelled;

(c)in the case of a declaration under paragraph (2)(a), the penalty charge notice to which the charge certificate relates shall be deemed to have been cancelled; and

(d)the district judge shall serve written notice of the effect of service of the declaration on the person making it and on the charging authority concerned.

(6) Service of a declaration under paragraph (2)(a) shall not be taken to prevent the charging authority from serving a fresh penalty charge notice on the same or another person.

(7) Where a declaration has been served under paragraph (2)(b) or (c), the charging authority shall refer the case to the adjudicator who may give such directions as he considers appropriate.

So what you do now is ignore the CC, do not pay it or it's game over. To collect the debt, TfL must, after the period for payment of the CC expires, register the debt at the Traffic Enforcement Centre, a form of county court but with no judges and no courtrooms. Once registered, they must send you an Order for Recovery. An SD form is normally included as well, but you can also download the form from the TEC websight.
« Last Edit: July 14, 2026, 11:19:30 pm by Incandescent »
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Re: Blackwall Tunnel appeal rejected but no letter or notification sent
« Reply #2 on: »
Thanks for this, it's very helpful.

So, in essence, I will have grounds to appeal on the basis that no rejection letter was sent.

Just out of interest, should there have been a note on the TFL timeline for my PCN, stating that a letter of rejection had been sent? I am just wondering how I would prove that no such thing was received...

Thanks again
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Re: Blackwall Tunnel appeal rejected but no letter or notification sent
« Reply #3 on: »
I am just wondering how I would prove that no such thing was received...

Bad news...You can't.
Good news..you're not required to do so. Follow procedure, complete the form correctly at the appropriate time, sign(a statement of truth regarding these matters), send to the Traffic Enforcement Centre in time and the CC will be cancelled.

Read this for background:
Understanding the enforcement process
The following information applies equally to Congestion Charge enforcement, Low Emission Zone enforcement, Ultra Low Emission Zone, Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels charge enforcement. At each ...
London Tribunals · londontribunals.gov.uk
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Re: Blackwall Tunnel appeal rejected but no letter or notification sent
« Reply #4 on: »
Quote from: tincombe on Yesterday at 10:03:27 am
I am just wondering how I would prove that no such thing was received...

Bad news...You can't.
Good news..you're not required to do so. Follow procedure, complete the form correctly at the appropriate time, sign(a statement of truth regarding these matters), send to the Traffic Enforcement Centre in time and the CC will be cancelled.

Read this for background:
https://www.londontribunals.gov.uk/ruc/understanding-enforcement-process
Just remember that acceptance of your SD does not cancel the PCN. ALl it does is revert the process to where it went awry, (none-receipt of response from TfL to your reps). As you've submitted reps, TfL must submit the papers to the adjudicator (London Tribunals), and Practice Direction 03 will apply

https://www.londontribunals.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Practice%20Direction%2003-2024%20on%20behalf%20of%20ETA%2028%20November%202024%20%28PWS%29.pdf
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