Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi everyone. My first post after being pointed here from another forum. I hope you can help.

On Tuesday the 6th of August I received Local Authority "Charge Certificate" dated 4th of August demanding payment of £105. The reason given was that I did not respond to a prior PCN for driving in a bus lane.

I am not here to contest the offence. From looking at the photos provided I know exactly when and where it happened, and although I did not realise that this small stretch of road was a bus lane, it is signposted as such since checking on google maps and so the fault is entirely mine. My only issue is that as I did not receive the original penalty charge notice, and therefore had no idea that I had committed any offence which is the reason why I did not pay.

Had I been aware of the PCN I would have paid the relatively small fine immediately.

I looked for somewhere to appeal the "£105 Charge Certificate" on the basis that I didn't receive the original PCN but no appeal information is contained in the charge certificate letter.

After calling the council parking line the next day (7th Aug) they gave me an e-mail address to send my query to, but it has been with them for 3 working days with no response as yet (12th Aug).

My concern now is primarily that the charge certificate made threats of bailiffs and additional fees if I do not pay within 14 days, and 8 of these 14 days have elapsed already.

I could just pay the £105 and then argue the case later, but I shouldn't have to as I honestly didn't receive the first PCN.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks John. Links to the Charge Certificate received below:
Charge Certificate Front
Charge Certificate Rear

Letter to Council
Not responded to, but I have an auto acknowledgement e-mail from them.
I also sent a reminder e-mail to them yesterday lunchtime- Again no response, but do have the auto acknowledge e-mail.

From the announcements page you linked to, The appropriate advice from the list seems to be this:
I will follow it to the letter!

Thanks Enceladus. It looks like I'm on the right track now.

I edited my response to John U.K.'s reply above to add some extra info he requested in case you read an earlier version.

The frustrating thing is that I will be out of the country for a week commencing the 4th of September, so I hope this doesn't end up perfectly clashing with the timescales given in the guide!   

The Charge Cert tells us that the PCN (which is missing) was issued on the 21st June, which was a Friday. That's the same day as the alleged contravention. Whilst not impossible the postal PCN is highly unlikely to have been issued and posted on the same day as the contravention.

Requests to the DVLA for the Registered Keepers details are usually sent electronically overnight and responded to electronically the next day. So several days elapse between the contravention and the PCN being issued.

Also the Council's website has your PCN showing £35 outstanding, that's not correct, it should say £105.

The amount outstanding should increase to £115 (£105 CC + £10 TEC registration fee) when the charge is registered at the TEC. So keep an eye on that.

Did you make a payment for the PCN at any point so far?

The Charge Cert tells us that the PCN (which is missing) was issued on the 21st June, which was a Friday. That's the same day as the alleged contravention. Whilst not impossible the postal PCN is highly unlikely to have been issued and posted on the same day as the contravention.

Requests to the DVLA for the Registered Keepers details are usually sent electronically overnight and responded to electronically the next day. So several days elapse between the contravention and the PCN being issued.

Also the Council's website has your PCN showing £35 outstanding, that's not correct, it should say £105.

The amount outstanding should increase to £115 (£105 CC + £10 TEC registration fee) when the charge is registered at the TEC. So keep an eye on that.

Did you make a payment for the PCN at any point so far?

Hi again Enceladus.

Thanks for looking into that, I tried to find the council website page to see the outstanding costs to watch out for the £10 increase, but only found a page to make payments. If you could share the URL you used that would be very useful,

I haven't made any payment for the PCN so far as I never received one, so also haven't received any details regarding how to pay the PCN. The only correspondence I have ever received is this charge certificate which states the £105 as a done deal which is why I was looking to appeal it.

Quote from: vacheron on August 15, 2024, 10:32:53 am

From the announcements page you linked to, The appropriate advice from the list seems to be this:
I will follow it to the letter!

NO.
Enceladus has since given you the correct process.

I'm a little confused.

The process I provied in the earlier link is pretty much the same process that Encleadus suggested. (Wait for the charge to increase by £10 to indicate that the debt was registered with the TEC and then submit a TE9 witness form stating that I did not receive the PCN)?

Hi all.

Thanks for all the help, advice and education.

Just to draw the thread to a conclusion, I came home on friday to a letter from South Tyneside Council out of the blue stating that they understand from my recent corrspeondence that I did not receive the PCN and so "are prepared, on this occasion" to reduce the fine back to the original £35.

Personally I think that despite making themselves sound magnanimous, that they should be prepared to reduce the fine "on every occasion where we don't actually send you the PCN". But to quote the movie Margin Call, that is spilt milk under the bridge.

I really appreciate everyone's input. Keep up the good work.