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Westminster issued a pcn in which they state "The Council believes that a Penalty Charge is payable with respect to the above vehicle for the following alleged parking contravention"
Surely a belief and allegation is not legally binding? Is the burden of proof not on the council to prove an offence and not for the accused to prove their innocence?
Does anyone know the best way to deal with this? The CCTV shows the driver sitting in the vehicle with the engine running on a single yellow line. They claim there is no evidence of loading activity and therefore their belief and allegation hold?
The owner of the vehicle wrote to them with a statement from the driver and when this was rejected sent a second letter to the council officially stating who was driving at the time. The driver has received a letter from the council but has not responded and has not been sent the PCN.
Would appreciate any help that might make this go away in the most expedient way - if possible.
A pcn is issued where there are reasonable grounds to believe that a contravention has taken place. So a belief and allegation is enough.
There are limited statutory defences to a contravention of decriminalised parking regs. From what you are saying in your OP I think it is fair to say that you own the car, you owned it at the time of the alleged contravention and you are not a hire company.
While anyone can pay a PCN, once the legal enforcement process starts it is the owner of the vehicle who is liable. Irrespective of who was driving.
If you cannot now persuade the driver to pay at the reduced rate, what I would do in your shoes is as follows:
1) Write now to the council and make a request under the Freedom of Information Act for a copy of the Traffic Order giving effect to the restrictions in the street that are alleged to have been contravened.
2) Discuss with the driver why they were waiting where they were doing and were they unloading or dropping off or picking up passengers. Think about how you can get evidence to support your case.
3) Scan, wash and post both sides of every piece of paper the council send you.
4) Two business days before the expiry of the 14 day discount period, send a first class, recorded delivery letter containing informal representations and mitigation to the council. What this will do is (in all probability) mean that Westminster will freeze the discount for a further 14 days after they write back to you. It also creates the chance of a cock-up by the council that amounts to a "get-out-of-jail" card.
For a PCN to be valid, there must have been a contravention, the PCN must have been lawfully issued and the enforcement process must be conducted in a lawful manner.
FWIW I am currently contesting a Westminster PCN for parking in a residents bay on a Sunday (I mis-read the sign among other things). When the council sent me the TRO it transpired that the restrictions are not in force on Sundays!
Actually this post is from the driver. Thank you for your post - am I right in thinking from what you say that the powers that be are firmly on the council's side? It seems as though they have been empowered to use bullying tactics with very little recourse.
It just seems astounding that they allow scope for interpretation for a single yellow line but then strictly enforce the guidelines as immutable laws. Does not sitting in the vehicle with the engine running not prove that the activity is pick up, drop off or loading/unloading?
Should I just pay as they will just go after the driver if I don't???
Sitting in the car with the engine running is "waiting" and a yellow line means "No waiting".
The odds are totally in the council's favour unless you are prepared to put in a fair amount of effort. Some people think that the effort is not worth the money and just pay up. That is up to them. I am of the view that if everyone who was able to appeal did so the councils would have no alternative other than to rethink their strategies.
Westminster CCTV PCN
in which they state "The Council believes that a Penalty Charge is payable with respect to the above vehicle for the following alleged parking contravention"
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