I'm just about to send this to my local council, but thought a few comments on whether it looks ok or not.

I refer to the above Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) issued by ******* Borough Council on the 13th September 2005. The PCN issued at that time stated the date of contravention, but did not state a date of issue.

The PCN Notice purported to be valid and issued under the Road Traffic Act 1991. However it was not a notice as it failed to conform to the requirements of the regulations, (IE: section 66, parts (a – e) in that they did not specify a date of issue (or alternatively a date of notice).

Since it is / was invalid, it is a nullity, i.e. is legally null and void, and as such cannot trigger subsequent enforceable action; hence the demand for payment was invalid.

At the relevant time I was unaware of this, and thus induced by the official nature of the documents to make payment to Drakes Bailiffs on 25th April 2006 for the sum of £354.60, for which I am now seeking reparation for the loss, i.e. restitution.

With the benefit of a definitive ruling by Mr. Justice Jackson of 2nd August 2006 in Barnet v Parking Adjudicator(2006) EWHC 2357(Admin) on the statutory requirements of such PCNs, and consequences of their failure to comply with statute, being that no financial liability arises, the payment was a 'mistake of fact'.

For support and particular focus on the relevant parts of the ruling I would simply draw attention to the following paragraphs.

35. The date of the notice will usually be the same as the date of contravention but this is not always the case.

36. It seems to me that section 66 requires two dates to be stated on a PCN. These are the date of the contravention and the date of the notice.

41. If the statutory conditions are not met, then the financial liability does not arise.

42. Accordingly, the requirements of section 66 were not satisfied and no financial liability was triggered either by the PCN or by any subsequent stage in the process such as the notice to owner.

I really hope that this matter can be resolved amicably and without the need for redress to the courts. Plus as I believe I have been unlawfully deprived of the money and should I pursue this matter to court I would like to remind you that interest at the statutory rate of 8%, pursuant to section 69 of the County Court Act 1984 would be applied and I have calculated as of 13th May 2007 this amounts to £29.82. This amount is what I will ask the court to award. As you will be undoubtedly be aware this amount will continue to accrue at the statutory daily rate of 0.021%, until judgment or earlier payment.

I therefore ask you reply the full amount of £354.60 as full and final settlement.

Failure to refund all the money unlawfully taken from me will result in me taking further action. I will give you 14 days to reply accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment. If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively, within this time period I will commence my claim in the courts without any further warning. For the avoidance of doubt, this action will inevitably involve you in paying additional costs, i.e. more interest, legal fees etc.

I believe that this timescale is more than sufficient, thus take this letter as 14 days written notice of my intention to issue a court claim should you not comply with my request.

I look forward to hearing from you in this matter and your remittance forthwith.

Any Good?

Bump.

Bump.

sad.... the letter looked pretty good

what was the outcome???

Thread moved to the Local Authority parking forum.

HB

why are you bumping a thread from 2007!! zubo!!

:der:

The letter is a load of nonsense written by someone who thinks that if they use legal-sounding phrases, they will out-smart the system.

I'll guarantee he didn't get a penny back.