How Can I Successfully Appeal Against a Barnet PCN?
This blog answers the question “How Can I Successfully Appeal Against A Barnet PCN? You can successfully appeal against your Barnet PCN instead of paying the fine by formulating an effective case. The blog explains the procedures for challenging and paying a Barnet PCN.
How Can I Successfully Appeal Against A Barnet PCN?
You can avoid paying a £130 or £65 PCN fine in Barnet council if you successfully challenge your PCN. You should avail this opportunity to appeal your Barnet PCN by stating that you had a medical emergency which led to the Penalty Charge Notice being issued. Other legitimate reasons which Barnet Council accepts are for attempting to avoid an accident or collision with another vehicle or person on the street.
You can choose to pay a lower level Parking fine within 21 days, which will cost you just £ 40. But all other kinds of Parking, bus lane and moving traffic PCNs should be challenged if you have ascertained from the CCTV evidence that you did not commit a traffic violation
In many cases, PCNs are not enforceable and you may be able to win your case and avoid having to pay your fine.
You could begin the process by speaking to an online solicitor for as little as £5.
What is a Penalty Charge Notice?
A Penalty Charge Notice is a fine or monetary penalty for driving violations. A PCN can be issued in response to any traffic contravention such as a parking contravention, a moving traffic contravention or a bus lane violation.
A PCN may be issued by a Civil Enforcement Officer or by CCTV. You will be given 28 days to respond to a PCN. If you don’t pay the PCN within 28 days you will be issued a charge certificate.
A charge certificate will increase the PCN penalty amount by 50% of its original value.
How much is the PCN fine for a PCN in Barnet Council?
The PCN fine for a higher level Barnet Council Parking PCN is set at £130 and a lower level Parking PCN fine is £80. The higher level Parking PCN fine rate has increased from £110 to £130 from 1st January 2022. A Bus Lane CCTV PCN fine is £130 and a moving traffic PCN fine is also £130.
If you pay a higher level parking PCN within 14 days, there is a 50% discount applicable on your payment, you just have to pay £65. For the lower level parking PCN the fine is reduced to £40 if you pay the PCN within 21 days.Similarly for the Bus lane PCN and the moving traffic the 50% discount brings down the fine to £65 as well, if you make your payment by the 13th day.
How can I pay my Barnet Council PCN?
You can pay your Barnet PCN online by entering your PCN number, vehicle registration number and payment card details.
PCN fine payments can also be made through Barnet Council’s automated payments hotline. For this, you need to call on : 020 8359 2336. On the call, you need to enter your payment card details along with the billing address for the card. You will also be required to provide your PCN number and vehicle registration number to complete the payment.
If you want to pay your PCN by post you will have to attach a check or postal order payable to “London Borough of Barnet” and send it to the following address:
Barnet Parking Service,
PO Box 197,
Lowton Way,
Hellaby,
Sheffield,
S98 1LW
You also have to mention your Barnet PCN number and your vehicle registration number on the back of your check or postal order
What is the procedure for appealing against a Barnet PCN?
You can view evidence of your Barnet PCN online before challenging it. For this you can access the Barnet Council’s online database system here You have to enter your PCN number and Vehicle Registration Number to see photographic and video details relating to your moving traffic or bus lane PCN.
You can start your PCN appeal by clicking here: Appeal PCN You will first be shown the evidence collected at the scene where your PCN was issued after you enter your vehicle registration number and PCN number on the webpage.
Next you can compose a challenge to your PCN along with relevant evidence. These evidence documents can be photographs, pay and display tickets or even a video of the scene captured by your mobile phone. You also have to provide the same explanation for your appeal as you would have done on a postal PCN objection.
You can send in your PCN appeal through the postal service to ensure that you can easily attach any evidence such as a pay and display ticket, a parking permit or a copy of relevant legislation along with your letter. The reasons for your appeal mentioning your PCN number, your residential address and vehicle registration number need to be sent to this address:
Barnet Parking Service,
PO Box 197,
Lowton Way,
Hellaby,
Sheffield,
S98 1LW
You have only a period of 28 days to appeal your PCN and you need to give yourself 5 to 6 days for composing your challenge. It is best to appeal by the 14th day so your PCN fine will be reduced by 50% and held at this discounted amount while you appeal the PCN.
If the Barnet Council accepts your appeal to the PCN, the PCN will be annulled and you will not be liable for any monetary penalty.
In case the council sends you a “Notice of Rejection” by disapproving of your representation, you then have to pay the amount mentioned on the PCN (within 28 days).
What Can I Do If My Vehicle has been towed away?
You will have to visit your nearest vehicle pound in person to unclamp your vehicle in case it gets towed away by the (TRACE) vehicle towing company. Barnet Council does not handle vehicle removals itself so you will need to contact Trace towed vehicle tracing service.
You can get in touch with TRACE through their customer services hotline on this number : 0300 077 0100. Another way to check whether your vehicle has been towed away is to text TRACE followed by your vehicle registration number to 66663.
Next you will be required to verify 2 kinds of ID documents such as a passport and a driving licence. You could also use 2 other combinations of documents such as your original birth certificate and your vehicle registration certificate.
You will need to present these documents along with vehicle release charges of £105 (paid by credit or debit card) and a PCN fine payment of £40. This adds up to £145 and you will also have to pay storage charges of upto £40 per day for each day your vehicle was kept by the police in the vehicle pound.
Your vehicle pound charges can vary so it is best to get it removed from there as soon as possible.
You will have to make the payment to release your vehicle from the vehicle pound by visiting the location in person. You must have at least £105 of credit balance available to pay with your payment card. The storage costs might not be the same as you have calculated beforehand and will depend on when your vehicle was impounded by the police. Your Parking PCN fine can be paid separately before you go to visit the Barnet Vehicle Pound.
You can reach the Barnet Vehicle Pound by following this address:
8 Eley Road,
London,
N18 3DB
You can visit the pound at any time between 8am and 10 pm (Monday to Saturday). The £40 Parking PCN fine has to be paid the way a regular Barnet PCN is paid before you make your visit to your vehicle pound and preferably pay online to save time.
You should have the 2 ID Documents, a copy of form 3078, your PCN (for parking the vehicle unattended) and your vehicle registration certificate (if this is not your ID document).
You can also call the Barnet Vehicle Pound on 0208 803 0384 for inquiries regarding your towed vehicle.
You must remember to recover your vehicle within 7 days from the vehicle pound. If you leave it there for more than 14 days the car might be auctioned off or even crushed. Barnet Council does not store vehicles for more than 15 days.
What happens if I refuse to pay my Barnet PCN within 28 days?
If you neither decide to pay your Barnet PCN nor decide to dispute the PCN with your council within 28 days, you will be sent a charge certificate from Transport for London. The charge certificate increases your PCN fine by 50%. You should pay the charge certificate within 14 days as it cannot be appealed and ignoring the charge certificate may result in the filing of a court order (for recovery of debts) against you by Barnet Council.
When the charge certificate is also not paid within 14 days, you will receive a “Notice of Debt Registration” and a witness certificate from Transport for London. The unpaid amount will be treated as a debt with your local Traffic Enforcement Centre.
The court order for debt recovery enforces that the charge certificate amount must be paid in full within 21 days or it will have to use additional powers to recover the money from your possession.
If my appeal fails, can I dispute the decision of Barnet Council with the Independent Parking Adjudicator at the London Tribunals?
Yes, you can also dispute your PCN with the Independent Parking Adjudicators at the London Tribunals after you have received a “Notice of Rejection” from Barnet Council. The Environment and Traffic Adjudicators decide appeals to PCN issued from local London Councils such as Barnet Council.
You can appeal to the London Tribunals online by mentioning the code on the “Notice of Rejection” letter or by uploading a copy of your “Notice of Rejection”. You need to type in your PCN number and vehicle registration number as well. Along with this information you also have to give reasons why Barnet Council has either failed to consider all your evidence regarding the PCN or not charged you correctly in the first place.
You can also send your appeal to the London Tribunals by postal service to this address:
London Tribunals,
PO Box 10598,
Nottingham,
NG6 6DR
The independent parking adjudicator will inform both you and Barnet Council of the hearing date for your appeal. If Barnet Council contests your appeal it will provide you with a copy of its application along with evidence sent by it to London Tribunals.
If the London Tribunals decides the case in your favour, Barnet Council will immediately cancel your PCN
Conclusion
This blog addressed the question “How Can I Successfully Appeal Against A Barnet PCN?” You should attempt to exercise your right to challenge a PCN by providing concrete evidence to back up your case. If the Barnet council rejects your appeal, you can also challenge the Notice of Rejection with the London Tribunals. You must not provide a reason in your PCN appeal which questions the integrity of the CEO at the scene such as accusing an officer of corrupt decision making.