Free Traffic Legal Advice

This is slightly outside my area of expertise, but in order to beat the PCN you would need to get back into the official process (which you are currently outside of because TFL don't think your father has engaged with the official process within the stated timescales).

One way of doing that is to submit an out of time declaration with compelling reasons for missing the deadlines. Unfortunately in so doing you are throwing yourself at the discretion of the court (and TFL) and experience of many posters on here is that more often than not they reject such requests.  But if it is worded well, and the reasons are strong, there is a chance.

There is no reason for it to have been out of time, because I sent the evidence well in time. By the time they admitted the evidence existed and they had received it, it was outside of the time and they were demanding a reason for the delay. I have no excuse for it, there is no excuse for it. Because I reacted straight away. But they won't admit they had the evidence. How do I convince them there's a compelling reason when the mistake is theirs. This whole situation is moronic and we are not in the wrong. We hadn't even seen the vehicle in nearly 6 months. It's ludicrous.

Paying is not the end, so pl don't consider it as such.

what do you mean by this?

Time is not on 'your' side, so let's cut to the chase. Pl excuse my brevity, I empathise with your and your father's position, but this is about legal processes.

Here they are:
https://www.londontribunals.gov.uk/ruc/understanding-enforcement-process

There's no 'we' sold. Only the owner may sell, so who is it? If the owner and registered keeper was your father then unless authorised in writing you have no standing in this matter. It's your father who has to respond to a PCN and Order for Recovery.

Pl strip out all non-essential matters from your account and focus on the key issues(you need to distil the facts to those which count at this stage):

Who was the recipient of the PCN(the addressee);
Date of issue;
When, how and by whom were reps made to the enforcement authority;
Was a NOR received, if so date of issue;
Date of Charge Certificate;
Date of Order for Recovery;
Date of Notice of Enforcement?

Recipient: My father
Date of issue of the PCN: 03/09/24
Reps were made by my dad by mail and posted: 17/09/24 (apparently not received by them until after the 28 days had elapsed)
NOR, I'm not sure on this one. I have included the time-line from the TFL website.
Date of Charge Certificate: 16/10/24 (I think, this is in the attached picture)
Date of Order for recovery: 16/12/24
Date of notice of enforcement: Not sure if what we have counts as this, The Reminder notice I attached at the top has a date of 17/02/25.


I appreciate you being straight to the point. I am available for any further requests for info.

Thank you

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Hello,

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This is in regard to a PCN issued to my father for a vehicle we sold approximately 3-4 months before the infraction was recorded.

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Last year, around April, we sold the vehicle in question to a buyer on ebay. I have the bank transfer details, the name and address of the buyer and a full chat history between my father and the buyer discussing and agreeing to the terms and sale of the vehicle. Once sold the log book was posted off and no more was thought of it.

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However, around the first or second week of September last year, we received a letter in the post which was a PCN showing the vehicle had been recorded in London on 26/08/2024. On the same day we received a letter from the DVLA saying that this vehicle had been seen as on the road, despite not being taxed. These were, of course, sent to my father's name. Upon contacting the DVLA we determined that, somehow, the log book had not reached its destination and the ownership had not been changed. My dad had long since removed the car from the MID (Trade Insurance) and the car had been previously SORNed off before the sale so, of course we didn't receive any notification of tax cancellation. I also called the Congestion Charge line, who were incredibly unhelpful once the answer to "Is this your car?" was answered with "No", but I eventually determined that I needed to prove the vehicle had been sold.

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So, I put a package together outlining the sale, showing the ebay listing, the bid, the chat logs, the name and address of the buyer and a screenshot of the payment made on a banking app, put it in an envelope and posted a copy of each, along with a concise and dated (September 17th) cover letter, to both the DVLA and the congestion charge address.

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I did not have any tracking information for them. All I have is a payment made to the post office on the day in question which WOULD add up to the correct amount for postage for two a4 manilla envelopes (but that's not helpful, so I digress)

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Within 2 weeks the DVLA contacted us to confirm the charge against my dad was cancelled and he had been removed as the registered keeper of the vehicle, so we assumed all was well. Except over a month goes by and I eventually call the PCN line and ask what the deal is, because my dad was sent ANOTHER letter regarding the charge. I explained the situation, and that I had sent the package containing all the information, and the person on the other end said they had received absolutely no letters of any kind on that vehicle. Not knowing what to do, I tried retrieving the postage information from the Post office, to no avail.

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Late November/Early December (2 and a half months after first PCN letter and my postage response) we receive a letter from Congestion Charging stating that our case has been denied because we sent information in too late and it was past the deadline for making any such case. This, of course, is not true, I sent it less than a week after receiving the first PCN letter and they just didn't open it until the deadline had passed.

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We have received more than one letter since, not knowing what to do, and yesterday we received a letter saying an enforcement agent would review the situation with a view to visiting the property and seizing goods. All this because they didn't open a letter in time. I don't know what to do and the situation is enfuriating me.

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Here is a little more information on the situation.
My dad is dealing with severe issues due to diabetes, meaning he is largely unable to walk and is potentially facing a limb loss, or a stay in hospital to clear veins. This has been ongoing for the past few months.
Further, around September, the time we received the first letter, he was due to go into hospital for a triple bypass, the need being due to a heart attack due to blocked veins and arteries, the event taking place earlier in the year. He has been very, very unwell for some time due to this and has had to stop working. Due to these issues, I had become his carer (fully receiving the gov allowance), which is why I was dealing with it, which is one of the reasons the PCN people wouldn't deal with me. He was unable to deal with this matter himself. His surgery has been delayed and he is still waiting for it, but he is not well and in receipt of allowances from the gov due to the illnesses.
The stress of this is putting more strain on him and he is seriously considering just paying for it to get it out of the way, despite the severe cost it would mean to him personally (I know it's only £355, but it's a lot in his situation).

• --

So, in summary,

• Car Sold around April/May, log book posted but the change didn't happen, not sure why
• Infraction by the new owner 26/08/24
• PCN Arrives around 10th September (My dad due to have bypass surgery 3 days later)
• Surgery is cancelled and my dad begins receiving treatment and scans for vein issues related to diabetes
• I post a large file containing all the documents on 17/09/24. No postage info. Packages sent to the DVLA and PCN
• DVLA confirm change 2 weeks later, no contact from TFL
• Another letter from PCN around middle of October requesting payment again. I ring the PCN people who say they've received nothing
• End of november and we receive a letter stating we have sent information too late (despite everything being sent and dated for 17th September and we are rejected
• 16/12/24 We get a letter demanding £280 from PCN
• Yesterday, 20/2/24 we get a letter threatening enforcement agents unless we pay £355, threating to take property
• Right now my dad is set to go into hospital next wednesday to see if they can fix his veins and save the blood flow to both his feet (one worse than the other) and is on the waiting list for stents as the bypass is too risky for him in his state.

The poor reddit post I angrily put together received an automated reply saying you guys are the experts. At this point I'm tempted to just pay it myself then go after the new owner in small claims because I want to reduce my dad's stress. He has a weak heart and is really struggling financially and physically. If you guys are the ones to listen to, I'll listen to your advice if you tell me to just suck it up and pay it, but I really want to try and give my dad a reason to relax with this matter. I don't know if I have grounds for a statutory declaration, but I think it's awful because I wasn't late with anything, I made it a priority and did it well in time.

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Thank you so much, even if you don't respond thanks for taking the time to read. I will be happy to answer any questions.

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