As you will appreciate, no-one likes to get parking fines. The Council gets frequent and varied requests to have them cancelled.
It can be very hard to adjudicate on these, while giving a fair and consistent system for all.
The appeals process
If you believe a penalty should not be paid and want to challenge it, you can do it online:
Appeal against a parking fine online
Note: Challenges to appeals by phone are not accepted.
There are eight statutory grounds for appealing against a ticket. However, we do look at each challenge in its own right and take into account any mitigating circumstances.
Challenge a PCN within 14 days
- It will be put on hold until we consider and respond to the challenge.
Challenges received within 14 days that are rejected
- You will be offered the 14 day discount period.
Challenges received after 14 days that are rejected
- The full charge amount will apply.
Response time for all challenges
- Up to 30 working days.
The response will be sent by email to the address you provided. If we do not have your email address, it will be posted to the address provided.
Appeals
If you are not happy with our decision to reject your challenge:
- The registered keeper of the vehicle can make a formal representation to the Council. Please note: The registered keeper is the owner as indicated by Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
- This cannot be done until after a document called a Notice to Owner (NTO) has been sent. (This is sent to the person we believe to be the registered keeper.)
If the formal representation is rejected, the Council will issue a Notice of Rejection (NoR) letter. This will be posted (not emailed) to the address provided. In this correspondence will be instructions on how to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT).
- TPT is a tribunal of impartial lawyers.
- They consider appeals by motorists and vehicle owners who have been issued with a PCN.
- It will not charge you to appeal, the decision made is final and binding to both you and the Council.
Note: At this stage, the discounted amount has expired. If the appeal is rejected, the full amount of the PCN is to be paid.
What will happens next
We will issue a 'Charge Certificate', which will increase the initial PCN (£70 or £50) by a further 50%, if:
- You do not pay the PCN off;
- or submit an appeal to TPT within 28 days from the NoR being issued
If the PCN is not paid within 14 days and is still outstanding after the Charge Certificate is issued:
- We will register the PCN as a debt at County Court.
- This will incur an extra fee that is added to the outstanding PCN amount and is:
- £9 for PCNs registered before 1st May 2024.
- £10 for PCNs issued after 1st May 2024.
Once the debt has been registered a TE3/TE9 document is sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle. This document notifies that the outstanding PCN has been registered with the County Court. It states a date, by which you must pay the total amount shown or file a witness statement.
If either a payment is not made or witness statement filed within the time limits stated on the TE3/9 document:
- A warrant will be requested;
- and any debt is sent to our contracted Enforcement Agency to recover the debt, which will incur extra fees.
For more details and fees, please read:
For more details on the civil enforcement of Parking and Traffic Regulations outside London (PATROL), visit: PATROL. This website shows Councils that are included. It also says what you can do if you receive a PCN.