Free Traffic Legal Advice

It appears to not contain the information required by section 7 (3) (f) (ii);

of what regulations ?

Here are the regulations for road user charging schemes under which CAZ schemes operate
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/1783/regulation/7/made

Please also post the PCN the right way up and all pages of it.

Surely Regulation  7 (3) (f) (ii) is on the first page of the PCN ?

As said before on this forum, there are no powers within the regulations to demand payment of the CAZ toll, and a case was won on this point in 2018. This is a procedural impropriety but as far as I can see, nobody has gone to TPT on this aspect since then.  It is difficult to find out because TPT do not have a Statutory Register searchable on-line.

My understanding is?

I can see a statement on page 1 to the effect that if paid in full the penalty charge is £60.00 if paid within 14 days therefore fulfilling (f) (1).

On page two I see a statement that after the service of a charge certificate the charge is £180.00 therefore fulfilling (f) (3).

I can see no statement that after 14 days but before 28 days that the the charge if paid in full is £120.00, there is a statement that the charge is £120.00 but no indication of when this charge is due.

The regulations require;

(3) A penalty charge notice must 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;

Because of the dashes the period must be included along with the amount of the penalty ?

I think you'd find almost all adjudicators would disagree with you and consider this part of the PCN is 'substantially compliant'. AS I said, the PCN is not compliant because it demands the toll as well as the penalty.
Here is the decision.I have marked the relevant sentence in the adjudication relevant to your case

Decision - PCN IA89548088
Mr Luke
There is nothing to pay and the charging authority will cancel the penalty charge.
There has been a procedural impropriety on the part of the Charging Authority.
Issued: 19/01/2018 Contravention: 12/01/2018 13:16
2 - Dart Charge Class C (2 Axle Goods Vehicle)

Adjudicator's Reasons
Mr Moran paid the £3 crossing charge at 23:20 on 14 January 2018, which was a day later
that 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.
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
Adjudicator's Decision

Hi
Bristol will only accept a single representation online, again contrary to the legislation, I will contact them tomorrow to remind them of my rights and submit my representations.

Perhaps I should have said grounds.

Bristol council appeal website stated that only one representation is allowed per PCN, when I tried to post my representations and then promptly deleted all but one of my grounds so I assumed that their understanding is that representations and grounds are one and the same.

I can see nothing in the legislation that forbids multiple representations only that representations must be submitted before 28 days;
 
(2) The charging authority may disregard any such representations which it receives after the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which the penalty charge notice was served.

The following allows multiple representations

11.—(1) Where a charging authority serves a notice of rejection under regulation 10(1) in relation to representations made under regulation 8, the person making those representations may appeal to an adjudicator against the charging authority’s decision—

(5) On an appeal under this regulation the adjudicator must consider the representations in question and any additional representations which are made by the appellant together with any representations made to the adjudicator by the charging authority.