Free Traffic Legal Advice

HOW TO GET HELP in this section of the forum
Please follow these instructions to avoid delay in response.
Please also read the house rules.
Please post from a computer, you should not try and deal with potentially complex legal matters while fumbling around with a phone screen.

Please be aware of PCN related scams, see https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dft-issues-warning-about-scam-text-messages-asking-people-to-pay-fines

IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED A CHARGE CERTIFICATE DO NOT WRITE TO THE COUNCIL! SEEK ADVICE FROM US  FIRST. IF YOU WRITE TO THE COUNCIL IN RESPONSE TO A CHARGE CERTIFICATE YOU ARE PROBABLY GOING TO SHOOT YOURSELF IN THE FOOT.

IMPORTANT: Those giving advice on here do so in their own time as volunteers, we have no paid staff. Every PCN we look at requires a lot of investigation, as we have to look into all manner of background matters you wouldn't know about (like traffic orders, compliance of documents etc) and that can take hours. This means it could take 7 to 10 days for you to get a comprehensive response from a senior expert, so please be patient. Do not pay the penalty simply because you haven't had a prompt response, this does not mean you do not have a case, it just means your case has not been looked at yet, but it will be.

1.TOPIC TITLE. give the details of the penalty charge notice (PCN) – include:
Council name or other authority
The alleged contravention (summarise - no need to quote in full)
Location
Examples: Islington, code 01 parked in a restricted street, White Lion Street / TFL, yellow box, Homerton Fire Station

If your case is at bailiff stage, add 'bailiff' to the title. We need to focus on this first.

2. Outline your case/tell your story/explain the problem and how we might help.

3. Post the PCN and all subsequent notices or correspondence. The easiest way is to take pictures with your phone. There is no upload space on this site so you will have to upload to a picture hosting site (such as https://imgpile.com/ or similar) and post links

You can use the "add image" icon to embed images in your post:



If you are using https://imgpile.com/ (our preferred option), once you've uploaded an image to the site you can use right-click the image and copy the link using the "copy image address" option:



You can then paste the link directly into the "Insert an image" box, make sure to set an image width not over 1500 or the image will take up the whole page:



Alternatively use Google Drive/Dropbox etc. and post links.
You can also upload videos to YouTube, Vimeo etc. and to Google Drive etc (please avoid using https://wetransfer.com/ as most members won't bother downloading zip files, you need to use a website that allows files to be viewed in a browser).

Leave in the PCN number and vehicle numberplate (VRM). The ONLY things you should obscure are your name and address where they appear, NOTHING ELSE. We may need ALL sides of ALL pages but it is OK to start a case with just the front of the PCN.

You can of course post council pics and videos too but don’t struggle – ask for help.

For location we like to see a Street View link in Google Maps, for example:
https://goo.gl/maps/QWuBAc6KpzTRfnq47

To share a Google Street View location, click the three dots in the upper-left hand corner and then "Share or embed image":



You will then get a short URL you can copy / paste into the forum:



To ensure you are alerted to replies on your thread, you must tick the "Notify me of replies" box under "Attachments and other options":



Also make sure to add noreply@ftla.uk to your email contacts / safe senders list, the last thing you want is for an alert from the forum to end up in your spam folder.

Finally to create a new post you need to use the "new topic" button:



Lastly this spreadsheet https://bit.ly/2ALghSS includes a database of known flaws for each PCN-issuing authority in the country, plus key legislation, case law and so on, it's not essential reading but is a useful reference library.

June 2025 update on one-on-one support: If you want me to personally look into your PCN you are welcome to email the PCN to me directly at ivanleo@gmail.com but this will incur a charge of £10 plus VAT per PCN (please attach all sides of all pages, and put the PCN number in the subject line), the reasons why a charge is made are explained here.