Free Traffic Legal Advice
Live cases legal advice => Civil penalty charge notices (Councils, TFL and so on) => Topic started by: LunarMango on January 17, 2026, 12:42:57 pm
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I'd be very surprised if Oxford CC has not discussed this matter internally since they were made aware of it many years ago. Obviously they have a financial interest in denying any wrong doing. Have you CP8759 made any FOI requests from either Oxford or the communications between DfT and Oxford CC concerning this matter?
I have but it's all covered by legal professional privilege, which doesn't expire for 20 years from when the information was created. While for Exeter the 2030 cutoff isn't that far away now, Oxford's information is much more recent. The only way to sort this out would be to take it to court, but obviously given the choice of a criminal trial or a modest payment to make it go away, most people chose the easy option even if they are offered free representation.
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IMO, if you qualify the issue should be raised with the council's external auditor. Contact the council and find out when their accounts are published and how objections to these may be raised with the external auditor- there's a 30-day window.
https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Council-accounts-a-guide-to-your-rights.pdf
This is not for objecting to your PCN as such, it is a means of focusing attention on the principle.
If you're successful, and it appears that the legal position is clear, then the external auditor would include this in their report to the COUNCIL.
You get to the highest level of responsibility and decision making and bypass the foothills/molehills of self-interested officers in the parking hierarchy.
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I'd be very surprised if Oxford CC has not discussed this matter internally since they were made aware of it many years ago. Obviously they have a financial interest in denying any wrong doing. Have you CP8759 made any FOI requests from either Oxford or the communications between DfT and Oxford CC concerning this matter?
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No, but I have taken action to ensure that the legal advice doesn't get deleted before 2030, at which point it will be a historical record and they will be compelled to disclose it.
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Has there been any progress with this case? Similar to Oxford, Exeter Council back in 2010 were enforcing the local hospital car park with excess/standard charge notices with threats of magistrate court despite the car park falling within a civil enforcement area. After seeking advice from a QC they realised they were in the wrong.
Council meeting minutes here (https://committees.exeter.gov.uk/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=12375&Opt=0).
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Hi @LunarMango, it is entirely illegal for Oxford City Council to enforce at all and I'm more than happy to help you fight this, however this will likely require a trip to the magistrates' court, but you won't be alone. The last time we dealt with something like this, this was the result:
https://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/news/24411882.police-falsely-accuse-man-illegal-parking-yarmouth/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1rrx1170qyo
For very much the same reasons why Norfolk constabulary can't enforce parking under the criminal law, Oxford City Council cannot issue ECNs either, they just ignore the law because so far nobody has held them accountable for their illegal behaviour.
Please contact me directly at ivanleo@gmail.com if you'd like to pursue this.
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OK so this is by the site admin so I've tagged him. @cp8759
https://www.ftla.uk/announcements/excess-charge-notices-guidance-for-those-giving-advice
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Oxford City is one of the few that still issues excess charges notices and I didn't know they had driver liability.
The driver should have got the windscreen notice as per the pictures which would have had a discount offer.
What happened. The contravention:
(https://i.ibb.co/Lhsv5G4N/Screenshot-2026-01-17-at-17-01-11.png)
(https://i.ibb.co/FccPf0v/ox3.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/JjVz66hf/ox2.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/mrY9zbQ1/ox1.jpg)
Thank you - that's helpful. There was nothing on the windscreen when the driver came back to the car. Is there any scope to challenge due to this? As the potential to pay a discounted fine has been lost. Or whether there are cameras to show that it wasn't there.
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Oxford City is one of the few that still issues excess charges notices and I didn't know they had driver liability.
The driver should have got the windscreen notice as per the pictures which would have had a discount offer.
What happened. The contravention:
(https://i.ibb.co/Lhsv5G4N/Screenshot-2026-01-17-at-17-01-11.png)
(https://i.ibb.co/FccPf0v/ox3.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/JjVz66hf/ox2.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/mrY9zbQ1/ox1.jpg)
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It's just a department of the council (note the gov.uk email address).
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Hello,
I'd appreciate any help/guidance. I've only ever had a yellow PCN before so wanted to check this was legit and that they did everything correctly when sending this letter. I'm not very savvy but it seemed odd to me, didn't say what was done wrong, times etc, it's come from Oxford Direct Services but I'm pretty sure it's a council run car park.. Also it states it's an 'Excess Parking Notice' but when looking online, only results about Oxford come up so are they using a term that they shouldn't be to confuse people?
Photo of letter:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J3UxNtMjUKNd3gWz0mZR9D9w7hO9Lkah/view?usp=sharing