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Thanks, I am considering putting an appeal in. Are there any examples of successful appeals based on this precedent?

That is the precedent !

With no searchable Statutory Register at the TPT, we cannot look to find other cases, and it was, I believe, pure chance that this case came to our notice.

An update to this case. I registered the appeal citing the Moran 2018 case. I received a message from the authority with the offer to pay just the crossing fee total of £5 for the two crossings and the PCNs would be settled, and that I could apply for a refund of the previous £5 paid that is being held as unused credit. I have paid the £5 fee and the PCNs have been cancelled. For the forum's benefit the text of my appeal was as follows:

I would like to appeal against the notice of rejection of representations on the basis that the PCN requires me to pay both the penalty charge and road user charge, which has already been paid but not considered within the PCN. As submitted in my representation along with the receipt, the road user charge was paid to Dart Charge on July 15, 2024, which was admittedly after midnight the next day but before the PCNs were issued on July 19, 2024. Therefore using the precedent of Case Number : IA01249-1803, Appeal Date : 22/03/2018 (Mr Luke Moran vs the Secretary of State for Transport) and the legal principle of "identical circumstances should give identical outcomes", the PCN should be cancelled and the already paid road user charges should be accepted as payment for the crossing.

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.

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.

The authority acknowledges that I paid the user charge albeit late (notification of rejection of representation attached). Receipt (text message screenshot with transaction ID) acknowledging payment is also attached, dated July 15, 2024 (transaction ID no. 1-526858804) for £5 in total for the two crossings. The PCNs were issued after this date (July 19, 2024) which means that the already received payment should not be required to be paid again as per each PCN, which requires a total payment of £37.50 or £72.50 including the £2.50 road user charge. Hence it is requested that the PCNs be cancelled as falling under procedural impropriety as determined in the Mr Moran case referenced above.

Response from the authority:

The authority can confirm that payment was received outside of the required time frame for these crossings.

The authority investigated the case and determined that the payments referenced by the appellant were made using the payment channel, intended to pay for crossings made since 6am of the day prior (to the time of payment) or as credit for future crossings that are due to be made in the next 12 months.

As this payment was placed as future credit against this vehicle, the authority is unable to use this payment to cover the appealed crossings.

In order to support the appellant, the authority is placing an offer of the payment of £2.50 for each of these PCNs until 23/10/2024.

If the appellant would like to go to the following link, select their PCNs and Select "Pay”.

Or by calling on 0300 1313 120 and holding to speak to an advisor, they will be able to pay the total amount of £5.00 and the PCNs will be cancelled, and no further action will be taken.

We would advise the appellant to have their vehicle registration number, their PCN numbers and a payment card available when making payment.

If the appellant is experiencing issues with this method of payment, can they please leave a message on this portal, prior to the expiry date of the offer and the authority will be able to advise further.

A request for a refund of the unused credit payment can also be made by going to the following link: https://pay-dartford-crossing-charge.service.gov.uk/contact-us and selecting:

- Dart Charge payment
- A general enquiry
and
- Refund

Kind regards,

Many thanks to Incandescent and H C Andersen for pointing me in the right direction and helping me get these PCNs cancelled.