Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi all,

In October 2022 I unwittingly parked on a yellow line obscured by fallen leaves.

A few days later I returned to an empty road. Looking online I realised my car had been towed, so I went to the pound and cleared the outstanding balance of £305. When I cleared the balance, I asked the pound to confirm that this would also completely clear any balance with the council and any/all fines associated with it being parked in the restricted area. They said yes, so I drove away and thought little more about it.

Yesterday (7th November, 2023) (and one house move later), I received two letters from a bailiff informing me that I owe £204 x 2 to Waltham Forest, with an additional £75 x 2 in compliance-stage fees for additional PCNs that relate to the period. The warrant(s) have been issued by Northampton County Court and I have until 16/11/2023 to pay.

I spoke with Waltham Forest this morning who confirmed what happened: I received three separate PCNs for the 18th, 19th and 20th. However, only the PCN for the 20th was paid when I cleared the balance with the pound.

The letters from the bailiff are the only correspondence I've ever received in relation to any of these three PCNs. This is because the car was still registered to a previous address. I then sold the car in either late November or early December, 2022, so the car was never updated to my new address.

When I spoke to Waltham Forest, they said they couldn't take any action until I write to the TEC with a TE9 form. Is this correct? It's not obvious what category I would use for the TE9 form:

You may make a witness statement under the following grounds, which apply to you:
• You did not receive the penalty charge notice.
...
• You paid the penalty charge to which the charge certificate relates. You must provide details of the date
payment was made, the method of payment i.e. cash, cheque, etc and who the payment was made to.
Please note you may be asked to provide proof of payment upon request.

I could say I didn't receive a penalty charge notice, but in a way I did so at the very beginning: it/they were on the car when I collected it from the pound. I just discarded them as I had been told the balance was cleared. However, it's true I didn't receive any other communications regarding the charges.

I could say I paid the penalty charges (because I thought I had), but it's now clear that I didn't pay the charges. I was just told I had.

Where can I go from here? Should I be using a different form? Is there any point in sending a TE9? It strikes me that I only have a week to settle with the bailiff, which might not be long enough to pause any proceedings against me.

Many thanks in advance.

Thanks,

For the 'out of time' statement, should I restrict this to the car being registered to a previous address? Do I need to provide evidence of living at a different address?

Should I mention that I was initially informed the balance was cleared by the pound, or is that irrelevant to the TEC?

You should mention that the car was removed and you were told you had to pay the outstanding amount, it was only now some 13 months later that you became aware of any purportedly outstanding amounts dov not mention the other PCN's  post your draft here before sending

Here is what I am planning on sending. I can't fit any additional text on the form:

On October 23rd, 2022, I used ‘trace.london’ to learn my car had been towed to North London Pound. I paid £305.00 to settle the balance and release my car. I was assured by staff at the pound that I was clearing the full balance and that I no longer owed any funds. I now have received a letter dated 3/11/203 from Marston stating I owe £279.00, due 16/11/2023. This the first and only communication I have ever received. I have never received any prior communication from the pound, council or Marston with respect to any of this.

Thank you. I'm pretty concerned that if I leave it too late the TEC won't get back to the council and Marston in time. If I don't pay in the next seven days then I'll have an enforcement officer visiting and the fee will increase. What do you think?

I then sold the car in either late November or early December, 2022, so the car was never updated to my new address.

Well when was it exactly and what proof do you have?

@london_fields any update?

OP, 2 issues.

The so-called outstanding penalties and warrants.

IMO, your grounds for a witness statement are:
'Paid the penalty to which the charge certificate refers'

Reason for lateness:
Car was parked in a restricted street for 3 days and, unbeknown to me, received 3 PCNs and subsequently towed by the council under powers in respect of the last PCN.
When I recovered my car, I paid the 'relevant charges' demanded by the council and gave my details as ************(address).

Apparently the authority unlawfully issued NTOs to my DVLA address.

I only became aware of the disputed charges when contacted by enforcement agents who either traced me by using other means or simply used the address I gave at the pound.

I submit that it would be unfair to disallow my opportunity to appeal to an adjudicator, although in fairness the council should cancel these earlier, given that the council were acting ultra vires.

For the benefit of the court, although I suspect that this is well known, I attach a copy of my receipt from the pound which clearly shows my address and also the relevant extract from the Act which relates to the removal of vehicles:

101ARight of owner to recover vehicle or proceeds of sale

(1)If before a vehicle is disposed of by an authority under section 101 above it is claimed by a person who—

(a)satisfies the authority that he is its owner, and

(b)pays the relevant charges,

the authority shall permit him to remove the vehicle from their custody within such period as they may specify or, in the case of an authority other than a local authority, as may be prescribed.
(2)If before the end of the period of one year beginning with the date on which a vehicle is sold by an authority under section 101 above a person satisfies the authority that at the time of the sale he was the owner of the vehicle, the authority shall pay him any sum by which the proceeds of sale exceed the amount of the relevant charges.

(3)In the case of a vehicle found in an area that is a civil enforcement area for parking contraventions, the relevant charges are—

(a)any penalty charge payable in respect of the parking of the vehicle in the place from which it was removed,

(b)such unpaid earlier penalty charges relating to the vehicle as may be prescribed, and

(c)such sums in respect of the removal and storage of the vehicle—

(i)as the authority may require in accordance with Schedule 9 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, or

(ii)in the case of an authority other than a local authority, as may be prescribed.

OP, IMO the second issue - if it gets this far because your failure to update your V5C carries greater weight than your other points - would be a complaint to the council. Acting ultra vires is a serious matter, and one which in this case appears to result from collective ignorance, which should be raised at the highest level.

...all assuming that the points to which my draft refers can be supported with written evidence!

@NeilB..PMB got me out of my sick bed to help with this one

..I know how you feel as I sit here having tested positive for Covid and suffering!

The only reply I've had so far from the TEC is that I used the wrong TE9 form. This might help someone in the future, so for posterity so I'll link the correct and incorrect forms:

There is no incorrect form, there's different forms for different types of PCN, the fact that the first google result relates to a different type of PCN does not mean the form is "incorrect". That's why you were advised to check with us before submitting it.