Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi all,

I received a charge certificate on 22 April 2023, letter dated 09 April 2023. The fine was for £195, original for a £130 fine. I didn't receive the original fine so I was advised when I called up the council to wait for another letter to complete a PE3 form. I then received the Order for Recovery in which I could complete the PE3 form on 21 July, although I had until 04 August to complete this. The letters seem to be received a week after they are dated which already doesn't leave much time to act. Anyway, since I received the letter on a Friday and the court is closed on the weekend, I couldn't do anything, and unfortunately I had to go out of country for a funeral on Monday 24 July and by the time I returned it was already out of time. I did however complete an out of time declaration on my return. My local court only accepts appointments and I can only arrange this via email and they take so long to respond, in fact I didn't get an email back until 7 days later and an appointment for the following week. Anyway I completed my out of time form explaining I received the letter on Friday 21 July and the court is appointment only and closed on the weekend and I was out of country on Monday 24 July, then I struggled to get an appointment on my return since they only make booking by email and they take ages to respond. I received my letter of refusal on Saturday 11 November which was dated obviously a week earlier 04 November. It seems I only have 3 options, pay the £204 fine, pay £275 for a hearing or £108 without a hearing. I am very shocked they didn't accept my out of time reason as I can't do anything if I am out of the country, all I can think is they are a sad judge who never gets away and must have been feeling salty. I don't know if I should have mentioned it was for a funeral and if that would've even changed anything but I just wanted the fine to revert back to the original cost so I could pay it since I never received the original fine to pay in the first place. I recently have this exact situation with another council where I didn't receive the original fine, however my out of time was accepted and I gave a more simple reason of the council can only book appointment via email and they weren't responding and took ages.

Does anyone have any advice if I should just pay the £204 even though I think it is unfair, or have any suggestions if it is worth paying for a review. Does the court fees get refunded if successful? Do you think my reasoning for out of time is even valid and could be accepted? Any advice is much appreciated and I would have until this Saturday 18 Nov to complete the N244 if I was to go that route.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Please find attached the letters I have received.

I don't have copied of my PE3 and PE2 forms as I sent these by post. But on the PE3 I just ticked I didn't receive the enforcement notice. On the PE2 form I explained I received the letter a week later on Friday and was out of country on Monday and when I returned I struggled to get a court appointment as they only do email appointments and aren't responsive.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

I didn’t realise I could email the forms so I posted them. I completed the PE2 because I was out of time. I received the order for recovery on 21 July so the date on the letter must be the deadline since it’s dated in the future from when I received it. I ended up posting the declarations on 17 August since I was away and then it took almost 2 week for me to book and appointment with the court for signature.

What does the council website say is owed? If the £204 then if you want to you could pay. You do not owe bailiffs any fees until they serve you with an Enforcement Notice until which time only the surcharged penalty and court fee is due.

If you read the OfR, it states clearly that if you need more time to complete the declaration then you have the opportunity to contact TEC in advance explaining your reasons. You didn't and IMO would be very unlikely to succeed at a hearing on this point alone.

No, TEC's time limits have no bearing on the matter. You have the 14-day period even if the bailiffs serve a NoE.

If you want to pay, then do so as soon as you can because once a Notice of Enforcement flops onto your mat, then you owe the bailiff £75.

If I pay the fine and the bailiff letter is received later, can I ignore it?

I've not checked the regulations but in practice if the debt is paid before a warrant is even issued, then I don't see any possibility of bailiff fees being added. The sooner you pay, the lesser the risk of bailiffs being involved at all.