Challenging a Parking Charge Notice
On receipt of a Parking Charge Notice
If you would like to challenge a Parking Charge Notice
(
PCN
) you should contact
Leicestershire County Council (LCC), who manage the scheme
on Melton Borough Council's behalf. You may contact
LCC
’s Notice
Processing Centre as soon as you receive a
PCN
, and it is best to do this in
writing. The contact details can be found at the bottom of this
page. It is advisable to challenge a
PCN
within 14 days of receipt of the
Notice, so that you are still eligible for the discounted rate.
Try and state your case as clearly and concisely as possible. If
you have evidence which you believe supports your challenge, such
as receipts, photographs or witness statements, please include
these with your written claim. It is advisable to retain the
original copies of any supporting evidence, and only send in
copies.
LCC
’s
Notice Processing Unit will then write back either accepting or
rejecting the challenge. If your challenge is rejected, but your
letter was written within 14 days of receipt of the
PCN
, you will still be given the
opportunity to pay the fine at the discounted rate.
Notice to Owner
If your challenge is rejected, but you do not then pay your
PCN
, Leicestershire
County Council will send a Notice To Owner (NTO). This will be sent
to the person believed to be the owner of the car, as, under the
Traffic Management Act 2004, The Civil Enforcement of Parking
Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007 and The Civil
Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) Representations and
Appeals Regulations 2007, it is the owner of the vehicle who is
liable for any
PCN
issued to that vehicle, irrespective of who the driver was. You can
use the form attached to the
NTO
to make a formal representation
against the
PCN
. A
formal representation must be made within 28 days of receipt of the
NTO
. The
NTO
details the legal grounds on which a
challenge can be made, however, if you would like to challenge the
PCN
on other grounds,
you can still do this. For full details of the legal grounds for
challenging a
PCN
,
please click
here.
If your challenge at this stage is successful, you will receive
a letter informing you of this. If your challenge is not
successful, you will be sent a letter explaining why, along with a
Notice of Appeal form, which allows you to appeal to the
Independent Parking Adjudicator. You may only apply to the
adjudicator if you have already made a formal representation using
the
NTO
form.
Notice of Appeal
Appeals to the Independent Parking Adjudicator should be made
within 28 days of receipt of the Notice of Appeal form. You should
then decide on what legal grounds you are going to appeal the
PCN
. The legal grounds
for appeal are as follows:
- You were never the owner of the vehicle in question, had ceased
to be its owner before the date on which the alleged contravention
occurred or became its owner after the date on which the alleged
contravention occurred.
- The vehicle in question had been permitted to remain at rest in
the place in question by a person who was in control of the vehicle
without the consent of the owner.
- You are a vehicle-hire firm and the vehicle was on hire under a
hiring agreement and the hirer had signed a statement acknowledging
liability for any
PCN
issued during the hiring period.
- The alleged contravention did not occur.
- The penalty charge exceeded the amount applicable in the
circumstances of the case.
- There has been a procedural impropriety by the enforcement
authority.
- The Order which is alleged to have been contravened in relation
to the vehicle concerned is invalid.
- This Notice should not have been served because the Penalty
Charge has already been paid either in full or at the
discounted rate.
When a Notice of Appeal form is received by the Traffic Penalty
Tribunal, you will be sent formal acknowledgement that your appeal
has been recieved and registered. Leicestershire County Council
will then be informed that an appeal has been lodged, and will
be given 21 days to submit their evidence to the Adjudicator.
Hearings will then be made either by post (whereby the Adjudicator
considers the appeal solely based on the written evidence you and
the Leicestershire County Council have provided) or
personally (where the Adjudicator will hear the evidence in
person)
Once a decision has been made, the Adjudictor will write to the
appellant and the Council informing that the appeal is upheld (i.e.
the appellant is not liable to pay the penalty charge) or that the
appeal is refused (i.e. the appellant is liable to pay the penalty
charge). If the appeal is upheld, this should be considered the end
of the matter. If any monies have been paid to the Council, these
should be refunded to you forthwith. If the appeal is upheld, the
PCN should be paid within 28 days of the receipt of the
Adjudicator's decision. The grounds for appealing an Adjudicator's
decision are very limited, and simply being unhappy with the
decision is not a valid ground for a challenge. The only other
challenge available at this stage would be to apply for a Juducial
Review in the High Court.
Paying the Penalty Charge
If you have lost your appeal to the Independent Parking
Adjudicator, you should pay your Penalty Charge in full within 28
days of the receipt of the decision. If you do not pay the penalty
charge within this time the Council may decide to increase the
charge by a further 50%.
Contact Details
Notice Processing Unit
Leicestershire County Council
PO Box 8633
Leicester
LE19 9AZ
Tel: 08458 450 450
Email: parkingmatters@leics.gov.uk.
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