How Can I Challenge A Cambridge PCN?
This blog serves to answer the question “How Can I Challenge A Cambridge PCN?” You have to write down your thoughts regarding the traffic violation scene on paper before you can extract the correct reasons to dispute your Penalty Charge Notice. This blog provides detailed instructions on how you can recover your impounded vehicle from the custody of the Cambridge Constabulary.
How Can I Challenge A Cambridge PCN?
A Cambridge PCN appeal can only be submitted online. So you should be prepared for writing this appeal by storing documents on your computer which can be used as evidence to challenge a PCN. Such data might include scanned copies of pay and display tickets, scanned copies of your medical certificates which indicate a serious health condition, and video recordings of your road journeys in Cambridge City Council.
Unless you make an effort to compile and save this precious evidence on your computer or laptop, it might be next to impossible to come up with authentic evidence within 14 to 28 days to upload with your formal representation.
You need to eliminate chances for any mistakes in your formal representation by first writing it down in a word processing software (such as MS Word) where you can edit the text to eliminate any reasons which indicate forgetfulness to justify your actions and to improve the clarity of your message.
It is essential that you formulate a strong appeals case before submitting your formal representation to the Cambridge Council so that you don’t end up with a Notice of Rejection of Representations from the council. The “Notice of Rejection” implies that your appeal has been refused.
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 monetary penalty issued to drivers or motorists for committing certain traffic contraventions including violating Parking, Bus Lane, and Moving Traffic restrictions. A PCN is issued for failing to follow Parking zone, bus lane enforcement, and moving traffic restrictions mentioned in the Road Traffic Act 1984 and the Traffic Management Act 2004.
A penalty charge notice can be handed to you by a Civil Enforcement Officer or dispatched to your (DVLA) residential address by post. Traffic contraventions are observed by CCTV cameras and Civil Enforcement Officers before a violation is detected and the vehicle is charged with a PCN.
A PCN might also be issued for failing to pay road charges on time. You have 28 days to decide how and if you would like to challenge your Penalty Charge Notice. After 28 days if you have neither paid nor challenged your PCN, you will be sent a charge certificate from the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
If you don’t challenge a PCN, you should pay the fine within 28 days, otherwise its amount will increase by 50%. A £70 PCN will be worth £105 if you pay it in the 14 days after receiving your charge certificate.
Can I Only Challenge A Cambridge City PCN on the official website?
Yes, you can only challenge a Cambridge City PCN on the Cambridgeshire County official website.
Your Cambridge City PCN appeal can be initiated by clicking on “Challenge Your Parking Ticket” here. On this webpage, you need to enter your PCN number and Vehicle Registration number to start your PCN challenge. This payments and appeals service has the same account so you must be careful not to click on the PCN payment option after you log in.
You can view CCTV camera footage of your traffic contravention before constructing your PCN appeal. The reasons for you disputing the PCN can be typed into a word processing software first and related to the text of the relevant traffic contravention code as well as to the specific material evidence you plan to use in your appeal. These reasons need to be formally compiled into an appeals letter to be submitted to the Cambridge City Council along with any material evidence.
So you can take 3 to 4 days for recollecting your thoughts about the traffic violation incident and even check your vehicle to recall the position in which it was parked that day. If you were driving with a passenger, their observations of the scene from the back seat of your vehicle could also help you to explain exactly what happened. Evidence including photos and videos can be attached online by accessing the Cambridge Council PCN Database.
You have to make the challenge to your PCN within 28 days of receiving it.
If the Cambridge City Council accepts your PCN appeal, the PCN will be annulled and you will not be liable for paying any monetary penalty. In case the council sends you a “Notice of Rejection” by disapproving of your representation you will have to pay the amount mentioned on your PCN.
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What Can I Do If My Vehicle has been towed away?
If your vehicle has been towed away from Cambridge Council you need to call 101 to ask the Cambridgeshire Constabulary about the matter. If your vehicle was towed away for violating your driving license rules, you should have received a form 3078 (seizure notice) by post. Your inquiry will be addressed by the Cambridgeshire Constabulary staff and in case your vehicle has been towed away you will have to visit the Parkside Police Station to get it released.
Next, you will be required to verify 2 kinds of ID documents such as a passport and a driving licence at the police station. You could also use 2 other combinations of documents such as your original birth certificate and your vehicle registration certificate. You should also have the insurance certificate for your vehicle and your V5C vehicle registration certificate (with you) unless this has already been used as one of the 2 ID documents.
Vehicles are seized by the Cambridgeshire Constabulary under Section 165 A or the Road Traffic Act 1988 due to a violation of your driving license rules. You must remember to visit the Parkside Police Station within 7 days of the date mentioned on your form 3078. The amount of money you will need to unclamp your vehicle includes a £200 release fee and storage charges of £20 per day.
So for example if your vehicle was towed away by a parking company 5 days ago, you will need (£20×5) + £200 = £400 to get it released from the vehicle pound. These vehicle release fees and storage charges are set under The Road Traffic Act 1998 (Retention and Disposal of Seized Motor Vehicles).
You should pay your Cambridge City Parking PCN online before visiting the Parkside Police Station. But even if you just have £400 with you (for leaving your vehicle in the pound for up to 5 days), you can still pay the amount at the Parkside Police Station to get your vehicle released before you pay the PCN fine. It is more important to collect your vehicle from the Parkside Police Station, before paying your PCN fine because storage fees of £20 are being added every day and your vehicle will no longer be in the vehicle pound after 14 days.
You will have to pay your Cambridge City Parking PCN within 14 days when you recover your impounded vehicle, which will cost you only £35. Your vehicle pound charges can vary so it is best to get it removed from there as soon as possible. For each week your vehicle is left in the pound you will have to pay £140 extra storage charges.
Once you contact the Cambridgeshire Constabulary by dialling 101 and tell them your vehicle registration number you will be guided to the Parkside Police Station for recovering your impounded vehicle. The Cambridgeshire Constabulary stores impounded vehicles at the Peterborough Police Station and the Parkside Police Station
You will have to make the payment to release your vehicle from the Parkside Police Station by visiting the location in person with at least £200 in cash or available as credit on your payment card. The Cambridgeshire Constabulary accepts Visa Card, Master Card, and Maestro Card for the payment of vehicle release and storage charges.
Parkside Police Station is located at this address :
Parkside Police Station,
39 Parkside,
Cambridge,
Cambridgeshire CB1 1JG
You can visit Parkside Police Station at any time between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm from Monday to Friday. Parkside Police station is closed on weekends. Staff from the Cambridgeshire Constabulary will be available at the pound to address your queries and for receiving the payment for vehicle release charges.
You should have the 2 ID Documents, a copy of form 3078, your vehicle’s MOT certificate, and your vehicle registration certificate (if this is not your ID document). After the Cambridgeshire Constabulary staff has verified all these documents, your vehicle seizure notice will be stamped to authorise the release of the vehicle.
You must remember to recover your vehicle from the custody of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary before the 14th day. If you leave your vehicle at the Parkside Police Station for more than 14 days, it might be crushed or sold by the Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
How can I pay my Cambridge PCN fine?
You should be aware of the fact that you can only pay your Cambridge PCN fine online. The PCN fine can be paid online on the Cambridgeshire County Council’s official website (using Visa Card, Master Card, Direct Debit, or Maestro Card) This payment method saves time and is also more precise as your details are entered directly into an electronic database.
If you were looking for a postal order payment option or a choice for paying your PCN fine via the council’s telephone hotline, you might be disappointed to learn that these options are unavailable in Cambridge City Council.
You need to enter your vehicle registration number and PCN number after opening this webpage to initiate the PCN fine payment online. You will be shown your Penalty Charge Notice information and in the next window, you can enter your payment card details. You must remember to wait for 24 hours after your PCN is issued before attempting to pay it.
You must pay your PCN fine within 28 days. You should pay before 14 days if you don’t want to miss out on the 50% early payment discount (which reduces Parking PCNs to £35 or £25 and Moving Traffic PCNs to £35). If you pay your Cambridge City Bus Lane PCN within 21 days, you will have to pay just £35.
How much is the PCN fine for each of the 3 kinds of PCNs served in Cambridge Council?
The 3 kinds of PCNs served in Cambridge Council are a Parking PCN, a Bus Lane PCN, and a Moving Traffic PCN.
The Penalty Charge Notice fine for a Cambridge Parking PCN is set at £70 for a higher level traffic violation and £50 for a lower level traffic violation. A 50% discount applies to early payment so If you pay your higher level parking PCN within 14 days, you just have to pay £35. Similarly, if you pay your lower level parking PCN within 14 days, you just have to pay just £25.
If you pay a Bus Lane PCN within 28 days, you will be charged £70 and if you pay it within 21 days, you just have to pay £35. The PCN fine for a moving traffic PCN in Cambridge City Council is £70. There is a 50% discount for paying it within 14 days, which reduces the fine to £35.
What will happen if I don’t pay my Cambridge City PCN within the 28-day limit?
You should not ignore traffic contraventions or the Penalty Charge Notices resulting from them or cultivate a careless attitude towards driving in Cambridge City Council. As per your driving license rules, you are bound to abide by Parking, Bus Lane, and Moving Traffic contravention codes in Cambridge City Council.
If you neither pay your Cambridge PCN within 28 days nor decide to appeal against it, you will be sent a charge certificate from the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. The charge certificate increases your PCN fine by 50%, which means you will be paying £105 (or £75) now. 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 the Cambridge City Council.
You will be sent a “Notice of Debt Registration” and a witness certificate from the Traffic Penalty Tribunal if you don’t pay the charge certificate amount within 14 days. The unpaid amount will be treated as a debt with the Traffic Enforcement Centre at the Northampton County Court.
The court order for debt recovery enforces that the charge certificate amount must be paid in full within 21 days or the county court will have to use additional powers to recover the money from your possession which means employing Enforcement Agents to (contact you or) visit your personal premises.
Can I Dispute A Cambridge PCN with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal if the Cambridge Council dismisses my appeal?
Yes, you can dispute the decision of the Cambridge Council in your “Notice of Rejection of Representations” with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal website requires you to enter details given on your Notice of Rejection of Representations, after opening this webpage
You can watch this instructional video here to learn about your challenge process. The video clearly explains how to use the online service offered by the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. On the Traffic Penalty Tribunal webpage, you will first have to select the type of PCN you were served by the Cambridge Council (shown on the bottom part of the page).
After clicking on your specific type of Penalty Charge Notice, you should select “England” (Outside London). In the window which opens up, you should click on the orange box which reads “If you don’t agree with the PCN, you can make representations against it”.
After viewing the instructions on the following page, you need to click on “Start your appeal here” at the bottom of the webpage You will then be required to enter your Vehicle Registration Number, the reference number from the “Notice of Rejection” letter from Cambridge Council, and your PCN number for which the appeal was rejected on this page.
You can use the online service to challenge multiple “Notices of Rejection” simultaneously. You will require a valid email address to create an account on the Traffic Penalty Tribunal website. You have to upload a copy of your “Notice of Rejection of Representations” letter to your application by using the Traffic Penalty Tribunal’s online portal.
You can upload evidence such as video clips of your traffic violation scenes (taken from inside your vehicle), medical certificates from a certified General Practitioner, maps of the area showing the exact distance your vehicle travelled inside a no-entry zone, and scanned copies of “pay and display” tickets. You should construct a strong appeals case to communicate your mitigating circumstances or to deliver your assertion that the traffic violation never occurred.
The Traffic Penalty Tribunal should be able to ascertain the legitimacy of your situation by viewing evidence material uploaded to the PCN appeals system.
Your appeal of the “Notice of Rejection of Representations” should be submitted to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal within 28 days of receiving your Notification of Rejection from the Cambridge City Council. You must avail yourself of this chance of a free and independent hearing of your case.
You will be able to contact the Traffic Penalty Tribunal adjudicator during the formulation of your appeal. The result of your appeal will be communicated to you within 14-28 days of submitting your representation. If the adjudicator decides the case in your favour, the PCN will be cancelled by the Cambridge Council.
Conclusion
This blog post addressed the question “How Can I Challenge A Cambridge PCN?” As your Cambridge PCN challenge can only be submitted online, you should maintain a folder on your computer which contains scanned copies of pay and display tickets, medical certificates for your health problems, and a video log of your vehicle commutes on the roads of Cambridge City council. These pieces of evidence are critical to the success of your PCN challenge and cannot be recovered during the 14 to 28 days you have to make your appeal.