Council Parking Fine.... but NO PCN or NTO received? Advice!

[green_and_mean]

If the first you hear of a Council parking ticket is the CHARGE CERTIFICATE or ORDER FOR RECOVERY then this guide is for you!

The Charge Certificate increases the penalty charge and allows 21 days for payment. You can ask still ask the Council to consider your representations at this stage but they are not legally required to accept them. If they refuse and you did not receive an NTO you will have to complete a statutary declaration.

If representations are rejected and payment has not been received after 21 days, the Council will register the charge with the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court to recover the unpaid charge. The TEC is part of the County Court based at Northampton that deals with the registration of debts from England and Wales for all unpaid Penalty Charge Notices. See Her Majesty's Courts Service website for more details. http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/files/OOTApplicationPack.pdf

After the TEC has sent confirmation to the council that they may proceed to recover the charge, they have 14 days to prepare and serve the following forms on you:

Order for the Recovery of Unpaid Penalty Charge

Statutory Declaration

What should I do now I have an Order for Recovery?

Once you have received an Order for Recovery you can either:

pay the outstanding amount (penalty charge and court fee) to the council within 21 days, or

complete the Statutory Declaration and return it to the TEC.

What is the Statutory Declaration form?

The Statutory Declaration form is a legal declaration to say that you never received either a Notice to Owner, Notice of Rejection, or a Notice of Refusal.

Your Statutory Declaration must be witnessed by an authorised person. This could be a solicitor or Commissioner for Oaths, Justice of the Peace at your local magistrates court, or an officer of the local county court who is appointed by the Judge to take affidavits. (A fee will usually be charged!)

You must then send the completed form to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (not to the council).

If you complete a Statutory Declaration it does not mean that the Penalty Charge Notice is cancelled. The Council will go back to the stage of the process where you said that you did not receive notification. For example, if you state that you did not receive a Notice to Owner, they will take your case back to the Notice to Owner stage and send you a Notice to Owner.

It is a criminal offence under Section 5 of the Perjury Act 1911 to make a false Statutory Declaration. You could be imprisoned for up to two years, fined or both.

On what grounds could I make a Statutory Declaration?

There are three grounds on which a Statutory Declaration may be made:

I did not receive the notification of the penalty charge (Notice to Owner) - If you did not receive a Notice to Owner, you will not have had an opportunity to make formal representations against the issue of the Penalty Charge Notice. If a successful Statutory Declaration is made on this ground, we will reissue a Notice to Owner.

I made representations about the penalty charge but did not receive a rejection notice - If you made representations against the Notice to Owner that were rejected by the council, but you did not receive our response in the form of a Notice of Rejection of Representations, you could not have exercised your right to appeal. If a successful Statutory Declaration is made on this ground, they will treat the case as a formal appeal and forward all documentation to the National Parking Adjudication Service (PATAS in London). Liability for the penalty charge will then be decided by the independent parking adjudicator.

I appealed to the parking adjudicator but have had no response to my appeal

If you made a formal appeal to the independent parking adjudicator but did not receive notification of the outcome, you might have missed the opportunity to pay the full penalty charge. If a successful Statutory Declaration is made on this ground, the case should once again be regarded as a formal appeal. If they haven't already done so, they will forward all documentation to the Parking Adjudication Service. Liability for the penalty charge will then be decided by the independent parking adjudicator.

What happens when the TEC receive my completed Statutory Declaration?

When the TEC receives your Statutory Declaration it will place the penalty charge on hold. A notice of this is produced and sent to you and the council.

The Council can then decide to close the case or revert back to the stage in the procedure where you stated you did not receive the necessary document

What happens if I do not pay the outstanding amount or make a Statutory Declaration?

If the outstanding amount has not been paid and a Statutory Declaration has not been filed after 36 days, the Council can request authority from the TEC to use a certificated bailiff to recover the outstanding penalty charge.

This is done with a legal document called a Warrant of Execution.

What can the bailiff do to recover the outstanding amount?

The bailiff will send out various requests for payment to the person whose name is on the warrant. If no payment is made, the bailiff can remove the vehicle or other goods to recover the unpaid charge. The outstanding amount will also now include the bailiff's costs.

I was not aware of this outstanding penalty charge and now the bailiff has contacted me. What can I do about it?

After the issue of a warrant you may still make a Statutory Declaration but to do so you will need to request and complete an Out of Time Statutory Declaration Form from the TEC.

The TEC will then ask the Council if they are willing to accept a late Statutory Declaration. They have 14 days to reply. If the late Statutory Declaration is accepted then the Order for Recovery and Warrant of Execution will be revoked and they will revert back to the stage of the procedure where you have stated that you did not receive notification.

If they decide to reject the late Statutory Declaration then the case will go before a Court Officer at Northampton County Court who will decide whether our reasons for rejecting the late Statutory Declaration are sufficient.

If the court decides in our favour then the Warrant can be pursued. If the court decides to allow the late Statutory Declaration then it is treated in the same way as a Statutory Declaration that is made within time.

I do not agree with the court's decision - can I appeal against it?

You may apply to have the order set aside by completing what is called an N244 application and sending it to the TEC. Once the application is processed by the TEC, the case is transferred to the respondent's local county court for a hearing before a Judge.

[adamna]

Interesting. So what grounds do the Council (or other LA) consider to reject an Out of Time application? If you are making a sworn statement, with the risk of a 2 year sentence for not telling the truth, that you did not receive something, why would they disbelieve you?

[green_and_mean]

Interesting. So what grounds do the Council (or other LA) consider to reject an Out of Time application? If you are making a sworn statement, with the risk of a 2 year sentence for not telling the truth, that you did not receive something, why would they disbelieve you?

 

Why not email the Court Office at Northampton I'm sure they will be able to enlighten you. I have tried to explain the process if you think it's unfair then write to your MP or something as moaning at me is not going to change it!

[adamna]

I'm not moaning at you, I was asking a question, and TEC are not allowed to discuss their decisions. You think I haven't written to my MP??????

I am asking, what grounds do TEC use to reject an application?

[green_and_mean]

I was asking a question, and TEC are not allowed to discuss their decisions. You think I haven't written to my MP??????

I am asking, what grounds do TEC use to reject an application?

 

Your guess is as good as mine.

[adamna]

So not a complete guide then. I didn't know that they asked the LA whether they approved or not. Interesting, and thank you. Where did you get the info from?

[green_and_mean]

So not a complete guide then. I didn't know that they asked the LA whether they approved or not.

 

It explains the complete process, since every case is different the TEC will inform you why it has been rejected (if it has). Feel free to add anything CONSTRUCTIVE if you so wish. This site is supposed to be to inform those in need of help not criticise others advice.

[adamna]

TEC won't advise why it has been rejected, just that it has. I wasn’t criticising your advice, just noting limitations.

[lamma]

is there a PE6D form ?

 

 

Accepting an out of time statutory declaration

Once a warrant of execution has been authorised by the TEC a

respondent cannot file a statutory declaration. The respondent may

make an application to file a Statutory Declaration Out of Time and

complete a Statutory Declaration form. These forms are sent out by the

TEC and there is no time limit for making an application to file a

statutory declaration out of time.

Upon receipt of a completed application and statutory declaration form

staff at TEC will check the documents for validity. The statutory

declaration will be checked in the same way as if it were being filed in

time. The application is checked:

correct signature and filed by the named respondent.

that it has been witnessed.

respondent has stated grounds for making the application

outside the relevant period (21 days).

A ground has been indicated on the Statutory Declaration.

For London Borough Parking Offences (See Annex 21 & 22) the

witness must provide a full postal address and only one ground can be

indicated on the Statutory Declaration.

 

 

If the LA rejects the out of time stat dec it should then be referred to a district judge (not a court officer) who will then either accept or reject the declaration.

[zeuten]

We suddenly received a Charge Certificate out of the blue demanding £105. It was for when we had parked somewhere over 2 months earlier. We had received no PCN or NTO. So I rang up the council and a helpful man suggested we let it time out and go to court. The court sent us forms telling us it had gone to court. There was one form supplied where you can make a declaration telling them that you had received no PCN and/or NTO. I filled this in. The court replied that they were ordering the council to send a new NTO out. They did this and it then allowed us to pay £70 or make representations to the council. I still felt that £70 was too much as I had never had the opporunity to pay £35 as everyone should. I wrote that to the council. They have now agreed to give us 7 days to pay £35. This is now acceptable to us and we have paid.

 

If someone should read this who is in the same predictament. I would say - Dont be intimidated by the Council's bullyboy threats. Ring up your council, find out what you need to do. Let it go to court. You dont attend, its done by post. Make representations to the Council. The whole thing is a money making [problem]. You dont need to get your form witnessed.

[green_and_mean]

We suddenly received a Charge Certificate out of the blue demanding £105. It was for when we had parked somewhere over 2 months earlier. We had received no PCN or NTO. So I rang up the council and a helpful man suggested we let it time out and go to court. The court sent us forms telling us it had gone to court. There was one form supplied where you can make a declaration telling them that you had received no PCN and/or NTO. I filled this in. The court replied that they were ordering the council to send a new NTO out. They did this and it then allowed us to pay £70 or make representations to the council. I still felt that £70 was too much as I had never had the opporunity to pay £35 as everyone should. I wrote that to the council. They have now agreed to give us 7 days to pay £35. This is now acceptable to us and we have paid.

 

If someone should read this who is in the same predictament. I would say - Dont be intimidated by the Council's bullyboy threats. Ring up your council, find out what you need to do. Let it go to court. You dont attend, its done by post. Make representations to the Council. The whole thing is a money making [problem]. You dont need to get your form witnessed.

 

The Council gave you the correct advice and then reduced the penalty to £35 so where did the bullying come into it?

[Bernie_the_Bolt]

Can this be made a sticky?

[tomtubby]

It explains the complete process, since every case is different the TEC will inform you why it has been rejected (if it has). Feel free to add anything CONSTRUCTIVE if you so wish. This site is supposed to be to inform those in need of help not criticise others advice.

 

Blimey...haven't things changed in 2 years!!

 

NOW....TEC will NOT give you a reason why they have rejected your application !!!

 

A Parliamentary Question was raised a short while ago to ask what guidance notes are provided to the "Court Officer" to assist them in deciding an Out of Time Application and not surprisingly the response was that there was "no guidance"......

 

Hardly surprising that complaints have reached the Parliamentary Ombudsman !!!

[jacktheskipper]

Having having experience of a councils procedures of sending out NTOs and charges certificate and THEM claiming they hadn't received the appeals forms yet I proved they had by showing the post office recorded delivery receipts.

 

The council officials are quite prepared to lie so would they do so if signing a declaration under risk of perjury?

 

What do you reckon?

[green_and_mean]

Having having experience of a councils procedures of sending out NTOs and charges certificate and THEM claiming they hadn't received the appeals forms yet I proved they had by showing the post office recorded delivery receipts.

 

The council officials are quite prepared to lie so would they do so if signing a declaration under risk of perjury?

 

What do you reckon?

 

A recorded delivery slip shows it reached the mail room how can you prove a particular person received it? I've had items sent to my house by recorded delivery and found them left on the door step yet the RM website shows them as signed for.

[jacktheskipper]

A recorded delivery slip shows it reached the mail room how can you prove a particular person received it? I've had items sent to my house by recorded delivery and found them left on the door step yet the RM website shows them as signed for.

 

Did you see the signature.

 

they're supposed flag up a jpeg picture.

 

and is insured to do so for a certain amount of money.

 

 

You can only prove a person received a packet or letter that signed the receipt. You would also have to have really the postmaster/mistress teller also sign that the appropriate documents were sent.

 

The context I'm talking about involves the council parking appeals team and their appointed address, not someones private address.

 

The person that signs the receipt will be an employee and representative of the council parking team (sent to either an address or po box provided from them) and as such would qualify as being received by the parking appeal board.

 

get yer bible ready folks and swear to almighty God.

[jacktheskipper]

there seems an annoying advert linked into my posts here for "small claims procedures in the county court"

 

It has not been placed by me and can you please tell me how remove it as it doesn't seem to appear on anyone else's post?

[green_and_mean]

Did you see the signature.

 

they're supposed flag up a jpeg picture.

 

and is insured to do so for a certain amount of money.

 

 

You can only prove a person received a packet or letter that signed the receipt. You would also have to have really the postmaster/mistress teller also sign that the appropriate documents were sent.

 

The context I'm talking about involves the council parking appeals team and their appointed address, not someones private address.

 

The person that signs the receipt will be an employee and representative of the council parking team (sent to either an address or po box provided from them) and as such would qualify as being received by the parking appeal board.

 

get yer bible ready folks and swear to almighty God.

 

I don't think you realise how such things work, the postman/woman does not wander about the town hall getting signatures from each department. The sacks of of mail are dumped in the post room to get sorted and signed for by the mail room. There is no way that you can prove that a letter was received by the appeals dept. Even a signature does not prove they got a document, it proves they got an envelope it could contain anything from nothing to whatever you want to put in it.

[jacktheskipper]

I don't think you realise how such things work, the postman/woman does not wander about the town hall getting signatures from each department. The sacks of of mail are dumped in the post room to get sorted and signed for by the mail room. There is no way that you can prove that a letter was received by the appeals dept. Even a signature does not prove they got a document, it proves they got an envelope it could contain anything from nothing to whatever you want to put in it.

 

Indeed the envelope could contain anything but what would be the point of sending nothing? I mentioned the postmaster/mistress/teller .. you could take a digital photos of them packing the items into and countersigning facsimiles as exact copies of what went into the envelope. With some strokes the traffic dept pull this would be advisable.

 

Now the recorded delivery signature shows that the right and proper dept (ie the one they put on their tickets) did receive a copy - now whether or not they bother to read or respond is irrelevant as they received it

We all are pretty familiar with the Town hall or dept of transport and the rackets Al Capone would be proud to get revenue. By the same token a bent judge or mayor might just get a wake up call at 3am with 8 guys in balaclavas wielding heavy pick axe handles and baseball bats to teach him and/or his family and to illustrate the true meaning of justice.

[green_and_mean]

Indeed the envelope could contain anything but what would be the point of sending nothing? I mentioned the postmaster/mistress/teller .. you could take a digital photos of them packing the items into and countersigning facsimiles as exact copies of what went into the envelope. With some strokes the traffic dept pull this would be advisable.

 

Now the recorded delivery signature shows that the right and proper dept (ie the one they put on their tickets) did receive a copy - now whether or not they bother to read or respond is irrelevant as they received it

We all are pretty familiar with the Town hall or dept of transport and the rackets Al Capone would be proud to get revenue. By the same token a bent judge or mayor might just get a wake up call at 3am with 8 guys in balaclavas wielding heavy pick axe handles and baseball bats to teach him and/or his family and to illustrate the true meaning of justice.

 

......meanwhile back in the REAL world!

[lamma]

proof of delivery to the council is good enough. If they lose it between the door and the appeals dept thats their problem i.e their fault.

[green_and_mean]

proof of delivery to the council is good enough. If they lose it between the door and the appeals dept thats their problem i.e their fault.

 

That is not the same as commiting perjury by saying you didn't get it, is it? You can send me a letter and my wife could sign for it then chuck it away I can still sign a stat dec stating I never received it.

[Bernie_the_Bolt]

That is not the same as commiting perjury by saying you didn't get it, is it? You can send me a letter and my wife could sign for it then chuck it away I can still sign a stat dec stating I never received it.

 

I don't think that it would be enough to get you done for perjury but you would have received the letter as your wife would have received it acting as your agent. The fact that she failed to pass it on is a matter between you and her.

[green_and_mean]

I don't think that it would be enough to get you done for perjury but you would have received the letter as your wife would have received it acting as your agent. The fact that she failed to pass it on is a matter between you and her.

 

How would I know? If I don't receive it I can fill in a stat dec regardless of any so called 'agents' as long as I was unaware it had arrived. If you start introducing 'agents' then no one can swear they never received it just in case a child, lodger, neighbour, co-worker etc etc acted as your agent and failed to disclose its arrival.

[Bernie_the_Bolt]

How would I know? If I don't receive it I can fill in a stat dec regardless of any so called 'agents' as long as I was unaware it had arrived. If you start introducing 'agents' then no one can swear they never received it just in case a child, lodger, neighbour, co-worker etc etc acted as your agent and failed to disclose its arrival.

 

In this case it won't matter what you know. If the sender can produce evidence that your wife signed for it at the address to which it was sent then in law she has accepted it as your agent. That you have to accept. If whoever is acting in a judicial capacity finds as a fact the document signed for is what the sender claims it to be then you are stuffed on that point too. If an agent fails to inform their principal of an act done on the principal's behalf the agent may be liable to the principal for any loss suffered. Basic law of agency stuff.