How Can I Challenge A Civil Enforcement PCN?
This blog serves to answer the question “How Can I Challenge a Civil Enforcement PCN?” Your Civil Enforcement PCN challenge needs to convince the parking services company that the traffic contravention never occurred, which requires authentic evidence material to be included with your challenge. You can collect evidence of your Civil Enforcement Ltd car park visits by recording video clips of your vehicle being parked in its designated space and video clips that show the exact duration your vehicle remained inside the Civil Enforcement Ltd run car park.
How Can I Challenge A Civil Enforcement PCN?
You can challenge a Civil Enforcement PCN by writing a letter to the Civil Enforcement Limited address or by filling out the formal representation form on the Civil Enforcement Limited website.
You need to approach a Civil Enforcement Ltd PCN challenge by considering the parking contravention code you have been charged with, for instance, the contravention code is 95, parked in a parking space for another purpose than that designated. Here you must show that your vehicle was actually parked for the correct purpose and you had intended to park in the specific parking zone run by Civil Enforcement Ltd. This can be done by using photographs from the traffic violation scene or video evidence which clearly explains that you planned to visit and park in the specific parking zone.
Similarly, parking code 86 not parked correctly within the limits of a parking bay or space also needs you to show how your vehicle was parked with its tyres at least half within the markings of the zone, which can only be done by using video footage of the scene. So by visually showing Civil Enforcement Limited how you did not breach the contravention code, you make a strong appeals case to get your PCN cancelled.
This evidence basically serves to disprove the evidence provided by Civil Enforcement Limited while handing you your PCN, which shows that the traffic contravention took place inside its car park. If Civil Enforcement Ltd refuses the evidence and sends you a Notice of Rejection, this Notice can be challenged with the Parking on Private Land Appeals service.
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 the procedure for appealing against a Civil Enforcement PCN?
You can submit a formal representation to your Civil Enforcement PCN by writing a letter addressed to Civil Enforcement Ltd or by filling in the online formal representation form on the Civil Enforcement Limited’s official website.
You need to brainstorm reasons to challenge a Civil Enforcement PCN from the day of your parking violation incident and list them down in word processing software or on paper. It is essential to have some authentic evidence to attach with your Parking PCN appeal in the form of video footage of your actions inside the car park or videos of you parking your vehicle within the marking of your parking space. You can make sure to record these each time you visit a Civil Enforcement Car Park to have some evidence for challenging a future PCN. You need to save scanned copies of your medical certificates explaining your mitigating circumstances, or scanned copies of your pay and display tickets used at Civil Enforcement Car Parks.
The evidence must be matched with the grounds for your appeal before describing the incident from your point of view. Your rough formal representation can be edited for clarity multiple times before it is ready to attach to your online appeal to Civil Enforcement Ltd. You need to visit the Civil Enforcement Limited website to submit a formal representation to your PCN. On this webpage, you need to enter your Parking Charge Reference Number and your Vehicle Registration Number.
After this, you just need to click on “Continue” to view your PCN details before filling in the online appeals form.
It is essential to upload authentic evidence material with your PCN challenge to describe your mitigating circumstances to Civil Enforcement Ltd and for explaining your point of view of the events which took place at the traffic violation scene. The text of your appeal must state the relevant contravention code on your PCN and explain how you attempted to avoid the error (supported by photos or video footage).
Once you have proofread your appeal to eliminate any reasons for your challenge which might convey a disregard for traffic contravention codes enforced in Civil Enforcement Ltd’s Car Parks (by mixing up the contraventions) or reasons which involve forgetfulness to justify your actions, you can submit the formal representation.
Another way to send in your Civil Enforcement PCN challenge is by mail. You can write down a formal representation on the Notice to Owner document and attach evidence documents or photographs to the form using a stapler or paper clip. Your letter should mention your PCN number, the date of issue of the PCN, your vehicle registration number, and personal details.
Your PCN appeals form and all accompanying evidence documents (enclosed in an envelope) need to be sent to:
Horton House,
Exchange Flags,
Liverpool L2 3PF,
UK
Civil Enforcement Limited will respond to your PCN appeal and your PCN will be cancelled or you will be sent a Notice of Rejection or Representations, which needs to be received promptly in order to contest the notice with the Parking on Private Land Appeals service..
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, your unpaid PCN amount will be registered as debt at the Traffic Enforcement Centre at the Northampton County Court.
How Can I Pay A Civil Enforcement PCN?
It is best to make your Civil Enforcement PCN fine payment online on the official website using Visa Card, Master Card, Direct Debit, or Maestro Card. This method saves time and is also more precise.
You need to enter your PCN Charge Number and your vehicle registration number after opening this webpage to pay your Civil Enforcement PCN by using a credit card. To complete your fine submission online you also have to enter your payment card details in the next window after clicking “Continue” You must remember to wait for 24 hours after your PCN is issued before attempting to pay it.
Your Civil Enforcement PCN fine is also payable by telephone. You need to dial the following number to connect to the Civil Enforcement Ltd payments system: 0115 822 5020. Next, you need to enter your payment card details on the call as well as your card’s billing address. Your vehicle registration number and Civil Enforcement PCN number are also needed to complete your payment. This automated payments hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
What happens if I don’t pay my Civil Enforcement PCN within 28 days?
You should not consider a private car park PCN any less than a regular PCN issued by your local council. The lower-level parking contravention codes enforced by Civil Enforcement Limited make you legally bound to respect them while using the company’s parking zones.
If you neither pay your Civil Enforcement Parking PCN within 28 days nor decide to appeal against it, you will be sent a letter from the car park company to pay your PCN in full within 14 days. If you donot pay the PCN within the next 14 days, your (nonpayment) case will be passed on to Enforcement agents or Bailiffs. Your actions will also result in the filing of a court order (for recovery of debts) against you by Civil Enforcement Limited.
Your unpaid Parking PCN 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 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 my Notice of Rejection with POPLA if Civil Enforcement Limited dismisses my appeal?
You can dispute your Notice of Rejection of Representations from Civil Enforcement Limited with the Parking on Private Land Appeals service (POPLA). Your challenge can be sent in 2 different ways, the first method is to download the POPLA Appeals Form, print it out, and send it to the Parking On Private Land Appeals service postal address:
POPLA,
PO Box 1270,
Warrington,
WA4 9RL
The letter must mention the 10-digit reference number contained in your Notice of Rejection from Civil Enforcement Limited. You need to remember that the appeal to POPLA is just like a regular Parking PCN challenge. 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, and scanned copies of “pay and display” tickets.
The evidence is necessary to convince the Parking on Private Land Appeals service that you did not breach the relevant Parking contravention code. You should preferably memorise all these codes before using Civil Enforcement Ltd’s car parks so that you know how to challenge a PCN and can do your best to avoid getting one.
If you have mentioned mitigating circumstances in your POPLA appeal, you must be able to explain the cause-and-effect relationship between the condition which led you to commit the traffic violation (such as leaving your vehicle parked for an extended period of time owing to a medical emergency). The evidence material to be sent with your written representation needs to be a document or photographs from the scene of the incident. You can convert a video clip into photographs by using a video player or video editing software by simply taking snapshots of the relevant frames showing your claim.
A first-class mail letter takes between 1 to 2 days to reach POPLA and second-class mail takes between 3 to 5 days. So you need to send in your challenge by the 20th day at the latest for it to be considered side by side with Civil Enforcement Ltd’s legal proposition.
You also need to remember that you must submit a challenge to your Notice of Rejection from Civil Enforcement Limited to POPLA within 28 days of receiving your Notice of Rejection. If your letter doesn’t reach POPLA within 28 days, your hard work and time invested into creating the challenge will be wasted and so will the evidence you have sent with your letter.
How can I submit my challenge to the Notice of Rejection of Representations from Civil Enforcement Ltd by using the online form?
In order to submit your challenge to the Notice of Rejection of Representations from Civil Enforcement Ltd online, you need to visit the POPLA website. On this page you need to first agree to the terms and tick each one off and enter your 10-digit verification number stated on the Notice of Rejection from Civil Enforcement Ltd. You need to click on “I Confirm that the operator is correct” and click on “Start Appeal” after that. On the next page, you will be asked for your Civil Enforcement Parking PCN Number, your Vehicle Registration Number, the reasons for your challenge, and the evidence material to support your case (which can be uploaded onto the POPLA system).
Here you can easily attach evidence material such as video clips and scanned copies of your medical certificates (for supporting your mitigating circumstances) through your computer. It is also an advantage to first edit the text of your formal representation in a word processing software and then transfer it onto the online appeals form on the POPLA website. A better-worded parking contravention challenge that mentions the legal technicalities stated in the Road Traffic Act 1988 or the Traffic Management Act 2004 regarding your parking contravention code to put forward your challenge will be considered as a strong formal representation.
The evidence attached to your challenge should also be correctly matched with the grounds of your appeal and not seem out of place. The document or video clip needs to clearly prove your mitigating circumstances or show that the traffic contravention didn’t occur, and convince POPLA to accept your evidence over that provided by Civil Enforcement.
Once POPLA is satisfied that Civil Enforcement Limited’s case has been refuted outright by your representation of the matter, the adjudicator (or assessor) of your case will probably make the final decision in your case.
This decision will be sent to both you and Civil Enforcement Limited via email simultaneously. If the decision by POPLA is made in your favour the Civil Enforcement PCN will immediately be cancelled.
If your appeal is rejected by Parking on Private Land Appeals service, you will have to pay the fine within the next 28 days to avoid your case being taken to the debt collection stage by Civil Enforcement Ltd.
At POPLA “assessors” or adjudicators of your case will make their final decision based on :
- The act of legislation your case (traffic contravention) refers to such as the Traffic Management Act 2004
- The Code of Practice used by The British Parking Association
- The articles of evidence put forward by Civil Enforcement Ltd and you which are representing opposing viewpoints of the situation.
Conclusion
This blog post addressed the question “How Can I Challenge A Civil Enforcement PCN?” The focus of your Civil Enforcement PCN challenge will depend on the contravention code on your PCN which can be one of the 12 parking contraventions enforced in the company’s car parks. The quality of evidence that you are able to produce for supporting your PCN challenge will be crucial to the success of your case.