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Notice to Owner Appeal by Birmingham Council - rejected


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Hi there.

 

My wife, received a PCN for parking in an area, which was permit holders only  from 11am till 12pm on 07/5/19. She returned to the car at 11.16am to find the PCN attached to the car.

 

The PCN was correctly issued, so there is no issue with that.

Due to financial circumstances at the time, she sent a cheque to Birmingham City Council with a postmark dated 20/5/19, which cleared our joint account on 28/5/19. This was for the discounted amount of £35.

 

In our opinion, this was sent well in time, considering the time elapsed for first class post and allowing for cheque clearing times. We thought this penalty charge notice was cleared with no further action.

 

We then received a Notice to Owner dated 11/6/19 stating that no payment has been received or any payment received has been insufficient to clear the penalty charge. There was no acknowledgement of the payment that had been made.

 

My wife made the appeal to Birmingham Council on the basis that the cheque had been processed, but this appeal had been rejected on the basis that the cheque wasn't posted in time. A further payment of £35 would now be due.

 

I am aware that council tickets are payable, but I see there is an opportunity to refer this to the traffic penalty tribunal, but only under strict guidelines. Is this one worth pursuing, or do I just bite the bullet and accept there is no escape from this one. 

 

Thank you.

BCC Notice to Owner - redacted.pdf Birningham Car Parking Reject.pdf

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27 minutes ago, honeybee13 said:

You've also left the vehicle reg, council reference and so on on the other document.

 

HB

Just figured out how to do this. Amended versions attached this time. Many thanks.

Birningham Car Parking Reject.pdf BCC_Notice_to_Owner_-_redacted.pdf

Edited by davyatsea
Forgot to upload documents
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You could appeal to adjudication on the grounds that the penalty exceeded the amount that applied in the circumstances

 

Personally I don't think that the appeal would be allowwed (but you never know!!).

 

However the advantage of doing so means that you will have a great deal of time till the additional £35 is due, since even if you lose only the full penalty (£70) would be owed  and if you win nothing more than the £35 already paid would be due.

 

In other words you have nothing to lose by appealing.

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It won't be accepted on those grounds. The penalty is correct for the contravention - forfeiting the discount period doesn't affect that.

 

Before we go any further - how do you know what the postmark said? I assume you never saw the envelope after you posted it.

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5 hours ago, Jamberson said:

It won't be accepted on those grounds. The penalty is correct for the contravention - forfeiting the discount period doesn't affect that.

 

Before we go any further - how do you know what the postmark said? I assume you never saw the envelope after you posted it.

I don't know for certain. Its only what the council said. The cheque payment was sent the previous day, the 19th as far as I remember. My wife dealt with this, so between me and this forum, I'm not certain.

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You could try calling them and discussing it. If that fails, you could apply for an adjudication hearing, but if it were me, I would want to be sure of the postmark, and if possible ask for a copy (they probably have a scan of it). It's your whole case, really. Without it, it's just late payment.

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10 hours ago, Jamberson said:

It won't be accepted on those grounds. The penalty is correct for the contravention - forfeiting the discount period doesn't affect that.

 

 

The OP contends that he sent the discounted amount within 14 days, and the council by continuing to enforce are demanding a penalty that exceeds the amount that applied in the circumstances.

 

The council agree that it was posted before 14 days but received after (which given the OP's account seems likely) and therefore the full penalty applies.

 

Adjudcation is a forlorn hope, I agree, but buys time at no additional cost to the OP

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That's not what it means. The charge which is levied for a contravention depends on the type of contravention. One might bring a £50 charge, another an £80 charge.

 

In this case, the charge levied is correct. Whether the Council should or should not accept the discounted payment as full and final settlement is a different issue.

 

On what grounds could he go to adjudication? Well, he said in his first post, " The PCN was correctly issued". So I can only see adjudication as viable if he can prove he paid the discount inside the discounted period, and after asking the Council to reconsider, they say no.

 

Normally, the discount is accepted any time before an NTO is issued, so it's 28 days in practice, if not in theory. That's why I would want to talk to someone in the office and find out what their position is.

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Quote

Mr. McGow does not dispute that the contravention occurred or that the PCN was properly issued and served. What he states is that he paid the reduced amount of £30 and that he should not have to pay any more money.

 

The PCN was issued on 21.04.02. The Local Authority state that they received the payment of the reduced amount on 14.05.02.

The right to pay the reduced figure only applies to payments received by the Local Authority within 14 days of the date of issue. It follows that in these circumstances the LA were entitled to refuse the reduced amount and insist on payment of the full amount. However, the Local Authority chose to accept the reduced amount. It seems clear to me that this was offered as full and final settlement. It was not open to the Local Authority to accept it on entirely different basis and pursue further money from the Appellant.

London Tribunal Key Case 2020298182

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I'm not sure of the relevance of the quote, Michael. What's the point you are making?

 

It reads to me like the council accepted a reduced payment in the spirit it was offered, ie, as an offer of full payment - so they could not then insist on the other half being paid too.

 

It supports my point above, "Normally, the discount is accepted any time before an NTO is issued, so it's 28 days in practice, if not in theory."

 

I don't see it has anything to do with the definition of "the penalty exceeded the amount that applied in the circumstances" - if that's your point - but maybe you can explain further.

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The key cases quoted ( 2020400303 (Harrow) and 2020298182 (Richmond upon Thames) were both where the motorist had paid the reduced penalty after the 14 day deadline (one 10 days late and one after he had received the NtO) and the council continued enforcement for the balance. Both appeals were allowed on the basis that having cashed the cheques, the council was accepting the reduced penalty as full and final payment. and could not pursue payment of the balance.

 

The council then appealed these decisions and asked for a review . At review their appeal was refused and the adjudicator directed that the council  accept the discounted amount already received as full and final settlement of the Penalty Charge.

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The OP should certainly ask the council about it - as I said, they routinely just accept the discount up until the NTO is issued. Why haven't they in this case? I'd want to find out, if it were me - then decide what to do.

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Many thanks everyone. I've submitted the appeal to the traffic penalty tribunal on the basis that BCC have accepted the cheque payment. Will I succeed? Genuinely I'm not sure, but looking above, there is hope and I have nothing to lose. As I said at the start, there was no issue with how the PCN was issued. Its the way the council dealt with things after processing the cheque payment. Many thanks again.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Apologies to everyone for the delay in coming back. We've been on holiday for a week in the sun, so have been off line for a while. Telephone hearing with independent adjudicator was today, and we won. The council did not take part in the tribunal and we won on the basis that they accepted the payment as full and final settlement. I believe this was a fair telephone hearing and a victory for the 'small man'. I won't post any transcripts unless asked for in order to help others.

 

At the end of the day, we did not have any issues with the PCN being issued, it was the way in which the council conducted itself after banking the cheque for the original payment. Many thanks to all who advised on my original post.

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