Jump to content


Leeds City Council 2016 Bus Lane PCN - now Equita Warrant of control


style="text-align: center;">  

Thread Locked

because no one has posted on it for the last 2404 days.

If you need to add something to this thread then

 

Please click the "Report " link

 

at the bottom of one of the posts.

 

If you want to post a new story then

Please

Start your own new thread

That way you will attract more attention to your story and get more visitors and more help 

 

Thanks

Recommended Posts

I moved house five years ago, and never changed my V5 logbook address.

 

 

I recently got forwarded a letter from the occupants of my old address from Equita which stated the following: ---------------------

 

 

To the above named respondent,

We write to you, the above named respondent, as you have failed to pay a Warrant of Control, which was issued through the Traffic Enforcement Centre.

 

We are authorised under 'The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013' to attend your address to execute the aforementioned order.

 

 

We have already issued the 'Notice of Enforcement' as prescribed in law.

The account is now with our enforcement teams and they will be calling without further notice.

We are instructed and authorised by law to seize your goods under the above regulations.

We suggest you contact our office immediately to prevent further enforcement action taking place. ------------------

 

There were then details of how to pay and debt advice services.

 

 

This letter came from Equita.

I have since confirmed it is in relation to a bus lane fine issued late 2016.

Obviously I didn't receive that and aside from two letters date 25th and 28th June 2017,

both reading as per the above,

I have nothing from Equita.

 

 

Obviously given the change of address this isn't to say they weren't sent.

I have phoned Equita who are claiming over £400.

 

As an added sticking point,

on speaking with Leeds City Council,

they said the unpaid fine was passed to Marstons, not Equita.

 

 

Any advice on my options?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Own thread created..please continue to post here adatat ...and Welcome to CAG

 

Regards

 

Andy

We could do with some help from you.

PLEASE HELP US TO KEEP THIS SITE RUNNING EVERY POUND DONATED WILL HELP US TO KEEP HELPING OTHER

 

Have we helped you ...?         Please Donate button to the Consumer Action Group - The National Consumer Service

If you want advice on your Topic please PM me a link to your thread

Link to post
Share on other sites

As you had not received any of the previous notices (as you had moved address), then you should be looking at submitting either an Out of Time witness statement (forms TE7 and TE9) or Out of Time statutory declaration (Forms PE2 and PE3) to the Traffic Enforcement Centre. Leeds City Council will tell you which forms. Please do not call the Traffic Enforcement Centre as their telephone lines are impossible to get through to at present.

 

The forms will need to be sent to the Traffic Enforcement Centre by email (not by post). The cut off time for processing the forms is 4pm. After this time, the Traffic Enforcement Centre will email Leeds City Council to inform them that they are in receipt of your forms and asking that Leeds contact Equita to instruct them to CEASE enforcement of the warrant. Equita should receive the instruction early to mid morning the following day.

 

All bailiff enforcement will then be placed on hold for approx 6-8 weeks for Leeds CC to consider.

 

Unfortunately, a large percentage (over 60%) of these forms are rejected and mostly, this is due to poorly completed forms. To improve the chances of your application being accepted, would you post back to answer the following:

 

What date was the contravention?

 

Have you since updated your V5C (Log Book)? If so, roughly when was this?

 

Did you update your driving licence?

 

PS: When speaking with Leeds CC, did you ask them whether there are any further unpaid parking penalties registered with them?

 

I'm sorry but I had not read your query properly. As you had moved 5 years ago, and not updated your V5C (Log Book) the council will very likely reject your application. That is not to say that you should not submit the forms. I would though not hold out oo much hope of the application being accepted.

 

You really must make sure that you update your V5C at the very earliest opportunity. Do you still have the same vehicle?

 

Have you updated your driving licence with your new address?

 

I would assume that Leeds CC had initially sent the warrant to Marston's and that they had not been able to recover the debt and returned the warrant. Leeds have then forwarded the case to another enforcement company under contract to them (in this case; Equita Ltd).

 

I would suggest that you speak to Leeds in the morning to enquire whether or not they have applied to the Traffic Enforcement Centre for permission to 're-seal' the warrant to your current address.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi, thank you for your replies, really helpful and have cut through a lot of the myths I'd heard elsewhere.

 

I fully appreciate the error of my ways now in terms of the logbook.

It has now been changed.

 

I had a further three tickets as well though these are still with the council and they were open to the idea of me just paying one, they asked that I put this to them in an email and I await a response to this, I have since phoned again and emailed to show willing though they keep saying to just wait for a reply to my original request.

 

To answer your other questions; - The contravention was November 2016

- I updated my logbook since all this started on 14th July 2017,

I have received this back since - And yes, I changed my licence when I moved

 

As for the warrant, I don't think I ever told Leeds City Council, or indeed anyone, my new address, I feared the bailiffs turning up! I did ask them about my options for this in my first email to them and they replied with

 

------------------------------------------------------------

Nature of Contravention:

34J - BEING IN A BUS LANE

Please find enclosed the reprinted notices sent to you for the above Penalty Charge Notice It is now too late to appeal to Leeds City Council.

 

The Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) is a registration point for Local Authorities to register unpaid penalty charges with the County Court for enforcement.

 

When a penalty charge is registered with the Traffic Enforcement Centre, an Order for Recovery is sent to inform that you have 21 days to either pay or appeal using a Statutory Declaration.

 

PCN with Bailiff Leeds City Council Parking Services forward the Order of Recovery to a registered Bailiff, Marstons who collect on behalf of Parking Services. lf this case is with the bailiff, Leeds City Council Parking Services, advise that you seek your own independent legal advice and continue to liaise with the bailiff.

Leeds City Council Parking services will not suspend any action until notification is received from TEC.

 

On receipt of your application the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) will: .

Notify the Local Authority concerned that an application has been received and processed.

 

Upon receipt of this notification the Local Authority will suspend any enforcement action.

 

A copy of your application will be sent to the Local Authority concerned by post. .

 

The Local Authority is given 19 working days to decide if they wish to accept or reject your application.

 

lf the Local Authority accepts your application within this time limit, the court registration will be revoked (cancelled).

 

This does not cancel the original penalty charge.

 

The matter will be referred back to the Local Authority. .

lf the Local Authority rejects your application, the court file will be referred without a hearing to a Court Officer who will make an impartial decision. You will be notified of the result. ------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

what would be my next step,

should I speak to Leeds City Council about this one that is no longer with them or should I go direct to TEC,

and if so what forms should I send them,

 

or am I better off just emailing them and explaining the situation to see what they advise?

 

I certainly don't intend to appeal the actual penalty charge notice, and would be happy to pay the fine itself in full (just not the additional bailiff fees) is it worth telling the TEC this?

Link to post
Share on other sites

As I stated in my above post, I would suggest that you call Leeds CC in order to find out what forms are required (PE2 and PE3 or TE7 and TE9). There is a huge difference between the two...

 

The PE2 and PE3 are statutory declarations and accordingly, you will be required to print off the forms and take them to either a firm of solicitors (a fee of £5 is charged) or to your local county court to have your signature witnessed. You will then be required to scan the forms and email them to the Traffic Enforcement Centre. By comparison, the TE7 and TE9 do not require your signature and can be emailed straight over to the Traffic Enforcement Centre.

 

I would very surprised indeed if the council accept payment for the ticket at this stage. They will insist that the Out of Time application is proceeded with.

 

PS: I am pleased to hear that you did at least update your driving licence when you moved.

 

When you call the council, will you please ask them what 'stage' the additional penalties are at? Are they at Notice to Owner, Charge Certificate or Order for Recovery stage. If at OfR stage....ask for the date that the Order for Recovery was issued and the PCN numbers.

 

Please post back when you have spoken with the council and I can suggest wording for the forms.

Link to post
Share on other sites

 

Unfortunately, a large percentage (over 60%) of these forms are rejected and mostly, this is due to poorly completed forms.

 

As an example, an individual who has paid a bailiff has been informed elsewhere today that when submitting his application to the Traffic Enforcement Centre that he needs to only put the following wording on his application:

 

'A bailiff turned up unannounced at my address with a warrant of control showing a wrong address'.

 

His application would be doomed to fail.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi, based on their email it's a PE2 required.

 

Any advice as to wording?

 

I have typed up the below email to accompany, advice on this is welcome too.

 

Thanks

-------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Sir/Ma’am, 

 

I have recently received a number of debt collection letters which were initially sent to my old address, and then forwarded on to me by the current occupants. 

 

These refer to a bus lane ticket issued by Leeds City Council I failed to pay in October 2016, again, as it had been sent to my old address. The reference number for this is LS*********. The letters have been sent to me by Equita on the 25th and 28th June 2017, I am unaware if there is further correspondence from them that I have also missed.

 

 

Rest assured I have since updated my vehicle logbook to reflect my current address. I thoroughly apologise for failing to do this at the time of changing address (which occurred as a result of my parents separating whilst I was at University). I did update my driving licence but didn’t appreciate the requirement to do this with my V5.

 

I understand there are options available to me whereby I can pay the original ticket and discharge all debt and liability against myself. I am keen to do this, though email you today to ask which forms it is necessary for me to complete given the above circumstances.

 

I am happy to pay the original fine in full (stated as being £60 if paid within 28 days, £90 if not paid within 28 days), I also have three other fines which are currently with Leeds City Council and will be paying these promptly and without contest.

 

The contravention occurred whilst on my regular commute to my place of employment in Leeds where I work as a Primary School Teacher and had I been aware of the first contravention I certainly would not have repeated it.

 

I have no prior history of such offences, nor do I have any endorsements on my driving licence.

I hope that you will appreciate the circumstances outlined above and accept that the cost of four fines is sufficient for me to have learned my lessons from this experience, and thus accept my request to pay LS******** at the above described rate.

 

I look forward to your reply and the successful resolution of this matter.

 

Yours faithfully (and apologetically!)

 

Oh and the additional penalties - if you mean the other tickets I've got these are still at a very early stage, all within 14 days.

 

I've asked about just paying one given and taking that as lesson learned (a friend had success recently with such a request) but would happily pay them all if needs be.

 

My request was emailed to them and they said that the charges won't go up (it's £30 if paid within 14 days) pending their reply.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi, based on their email it's a PE2 required. Any advice as to wording?

 

 

I have typed up the below email to accompany, advice on this is welcome too.

 

The email (although informative is not necessary).

 

What you need to be doing is to put together a suitable PE2. Use the following as guidance and add or amend as necessary.

 

I only became aware of this penalty when etc, etc,

 

I contacted Leeds City Council and they informed me that xxxxx. They also informed me that they had been writing to me at xxxxx. Unfortunately, I did not realise any of their letters because I had moved etc etc.

 

When I moved, I updated my driving licence but it wasn't until speaking with the council that I realised that I had overlooked updating my V5C. I apologise etc. (explain about parents separating while you were at Uni). Following my conversation, I returned by V5C to DVLA etc, etc.

 

Finish by outlining briefly how the contravention occurred (commuting to place of employment etc) and that you have no prior history etc.

 

PS: Forget about the part about being happy to pay at £60 or how much in now being demanded. The entire reason for submitting the Out of Time Statutory Declaration is to 'rewind' the procedure back to the £60 stage.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for your quick reply as always.

 

I've typed this up for the 'My reasons for filing the statutory declaration outside the given time are as follows:'

 

I only became aware of this penalty on 14th July when I received a number of letters forwarded to me by the current occupier of my prior address. I do not believe this to represent the full correspondence sent to me and have since made numerous phone calls to Leeds City Council to establish further relevant details, they have informed me that submission of a PE2 to yourselves is the appropriate course of action for me to follow.

 

Upon receipt of the letters, I immediately contacted Leeds City Council and they informed me that I had the above outstanding penalty charge as in addition to three others that were still with Leeds City Council. They informed me that they had been writing to me at my prior address of ** ************.

 

Unfortunately, I did not receive any of their letters because I had moved address. As stated above, some have since been forwarded to me by the current occupant of that address and whilst they state this is all they have I do not believe the letters they have sent me to represent the full correspondance.

 

 

When I moved, I updated my driving licence to reflect my new address but it wasn't until speaking with the council that I realised I had overlooked updating my V5C. The change of address was as a result of my parents separating, all of which occurred whilst I was at University. Following my conversation with Leeds City Council earlier this month I immediately returned my V5C to the DVLA to update my address.

 

The contravention occurred whilst commuting to my place of work in Burmantofts where I was employed as a trainee Primary School Teacher. Due to it being on my regular commute, and me being unaware of the contravention, these were repeated leading to the further penalty charge notices.

 

Had I been aware of the initial contravention I certainly would not have repeated it and hope that my clean driving licence and no prior history of such contraventions speaks to my good character with regard to this.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Only reason I'm leaving the other three in is because I want to pre-empt them looking me up and seeing them on my record, I don't want to say 'hey I'm normally really good' and they then see all these other fines against my name. This way I can explain that the one I'm talking to them about is the first and that I wouldn't have committed 2, 3, and 4 had I known I was in the wrong. Thoughts?

Link to post
Share on other sites

I can see your logic and agree with it.

 

Another suggestion then:

 

I would suggest that you amend the para slightly to state that after being made aware of the additional tickets, you will be making immediate arrangements for payment etc etc ( or similar wording).

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

TEC rejected. Any other options besides court? Pretty sure bailiffs are still unaware of updated address (haven't heard anything from them) so what would you suggest I do? Really don't want them turning up at the door, is there room for haggling maybe?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Your recent application to file a Statutory Declaration/Witness Statement out of time was referred to the Court Officer for a decision without a hearing under Part 75.5 (1) of the Civil Procedure Rules. Your application has been refused, please find enclosed the order drawn by the Court Officer. The response from the local authority with regards to your out of time application should already have been served to you.

 

The TEC is unable to assist with any queries you may have regarding why the application was refused. Reasons are not held on court record and the Court Officer is not required to give an explanation for refusal. Please be aware that any enforcement action may be reintroduced by the Local Authority pursuing you and the TEC do not have the authority to stop such enforcement action.

 

If you wish to apply for a review of this decision you should complete an Application Notice N244 which is available from our website or from your local County Court Hearing Centre. The application should be filed with the TEC within 14 days of the date of this service of the Court Officer’s Order. For a review by a District Judge at a hearing to be arranged at your nearest County Court Hearing Centre, the fee payable is £255. For a review by a District Judge without a hearing, the fee payable is £100. As this application may incur further costs being awarded against you, you are advised to seek legal advice before proceeding.

 

Payment for the fee, made payable to HMCTS, should be sent with the N244 application to the above address. If you cannot afford to pay the fee, you may be able to apply for a fee remission. Information on this together with an application form i provided in the booklet EX160A.

 

Your faithfully….

 

 

And then on a separate piece of paper

 

Before a Court Officer

Sitting at Northampton County Court

 

It is ordered that -

 

1. Under rule 23.8 of Civil Procedure Rules the court will deal with the application for leave to file a Statutory Declaration/Witness Statement out of time without a hearing because the court does not consider a hearing at Northampton would be appropriate.

2. The application for leave to file a statutory declaration/witness statement to be — REFUSED

 

Date order made - 20th August 2017

Date order drawn - 20th August 2017

 

 

Any thoughts? Realistically thinking it just needs to be paid, but is haggling with equita a possibility?

Link to post
Share on other sites

The response from the local authority with regards to your out of time application should already have been served to you.

 

As outlined in the letter from the Traffic Enforcement Centre, Leeds City Council should have sent you a copy of their response to your application. This statement would have outlined the reason why they did not want to grant permission for you to file your late witness statement. Without that statement, you are effectively barred from giving consideration to seeking a 'review' of the rejection. In other words, your access to justice is being denied because, without having sight of the statement, you have no idea why your application was rejected.

 

I would normally suggest that you contact the Traffic Enforcement Centre for a copy but for the past week one of their two telephone lines has been out of order so it's a nightmare to get thorough to them by phone.

 

On Tuesday, I would suggest that you contact Leeds and ask them to send you a copy. That document is one that you are supposed to be provided with and they must not refuse to provide it.

 

Please post back once you have made contact.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm of the thinking that its your fault you didn't receive letters because you failed to update the dvla on a current address for the keeper.

You do realise if you go down the road of oot notice the dvla may slap £1000 fine on you.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm of the thinking that its your fault you didn't receive letters because you failed to update the dvla on a current address for the keeper.

 

You do realise if you go down the road of oot notice the dvla may slap £1000 fine on you.

 

Because the OP had not updated his address details with DVLA, it was almost certainly his fault that he had not received any of the notices from the council. However, that does not take away the fact the he had not received the notices.

 

The other question that would need to be considered was whether the OP deliberately chose not to update his address details in order to evade parking debts. Given that he had updated his driving licence it is clear that he was not seeking to avoid debts etc.

 

I have yet to come across a fine for not updating address details on the V5C. Such a fine is a rarity. Also, it is my understanding that it is the Police and not DVLA who are responsible for issuing such fines.

Link to post
Share on other sites

The dvla issue the fine

I know 2 people that failed to update, tried an oot and it was denied. They were then both fined £1000 for failure to update the secretary of state of a change in circumstance

 

At the risk of letting this thread turn into a 'discussion' one, could you let me know whether the 2 prosecutions that you refer to relate to either:

 

Failure to update address details on the
V5C (Logbook)

 

or:

 

Failure to update address details on the
driving licence

 

PS: This is a subject that I have spent a considerable amount of time researching and a subject that is greatly misunderstood by local authorities and in particular, enforcement companies.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, if a vehicle keeper fails to notify a change of address with DVLA on his V5C (Log Book), DVLA does not take enforcement action.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 Caggers

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Have we helped you ...?


×
×
  • Create New...