Free Traffic Legal Advice
Live cases legal advice => Civil penalty charge notices (Councils, TFL and so on) => Topic started by: Richard J. on September 06, 2023, 11:16:41 pm
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We have always taken the view that "did not receive" must mean "did not receive within the 28 day period to challenge or pay".
If you think about it, sometimes councils don't pursue matters for months or even 2 / 3 years, and there is the odd story in the press of a letter turning up years after it was posted. If a PCN arrived 2 years after the date of posting and the next day an order for recovery is served, it is obviously not the intent of the legislature that the recipient has no recourse and must pay the OfR, as that would be an obvious injustice.
I therefore recommend you don't add anything to any box, just get him to tick the "did not receive" box and leave it at that. As long as SD is filed in time, it's a tick-box exercise and the SD will be automatically accepted, and nobody could accuse "Ken" of making a dishonest declaration.
The key thing is to keep an eye on the amount due on the council website: as soon as it drops down to £65 you can make representations, you don't need to wait for the physical re-issued PCN to be served.
Top tip: If the order for recovery does not include a copy of the original PCN, that can provide a ground of appeal. It therefore recommend filming the opening of the envelope that contains the order for recovery, if there's no copy of the original PCN enclosed you might as well get some conclusive evidence of that.
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This is based on a query I raised a few days ago on pepipoo.
I was asked by "Ken" to help with a PCN, which I do frequently for local residents, but this one raised a specific point which I am seeking help on here.
The PCN was issued by Hounslow on 28/7/2023 but was misdelivered by Royal Mail to Ken's next-door neighbour, who happened to be away from home for 2 months. The neighbour discovered it when he returned home, and gave it to Ken on 03/09/2023. Meanwhile Hounslow issued a Charge Certificate on 01/09/2023 which was delivered correctly by Royal Mail on 04/09/2023.
If Ken hadn't seen the PCN, I would have advised him to get a Statutory Declaration signed and witnessed, declaring that he had not received the PCN. The wording on the SD form is "I did not receive the ... Penalty Charge Notice". As he eventually DID receive the PCN, is it still OK to tick the "did not receive" box, but add an explanation in the full reasons box? I don't want to trigger a rejection from TEC by adding things to the SD form in a way that annoys them.
The aim is to get the penalty reduced to £130 (£65 discounted) from its current £195.