This blog serves to answer the question “How Can I Challenge A Coventry PCN?” Your Coventry PCN challenge should be professionally worded and devoid of any spontaneous reasons to justify your actions or any reasons which mention that you forgot about the Parking, Bus Lane or Moving Traffic contravention code in place at the location. This blog contains a list of moving traffic contravention codes enforced by Coventry City Council.

How Can I Challenge A Coventry PCN?

You should try to clearly remember the exact circumstances of your traffic violation which led to the Penalty Charge Notice and note down any specific observations which you feel the CCTV or Civil Enforcement Officer missed out on. Once you have formed a mental description of the scene, you need to upload photographs or video footage with your formal representation to prove this point of view to the Coventry City Council.

The contents of your formal representation should be composed offline in Microsoft Word (or any other word processing software) and evidence documents related to the challenge should be stored in a separate folder on your desktop. This data can later be transferred to the online formal representation form. The text of your PCN appeal should be based on your version of events supported by authentic photos or video evidence with a matching date stamp with the date and time of the (alleged) traffic violation.

The grounds of your PCN challenge should use the relevant contravention code to clearly show that you had not breached the Parking, Bus Lane or Moving Traffic restriction or be one of the acceptable mitigating circumstances for commiting the relevant contravention. Your Coventry City PCN appeal should not involve reasons which display a lack of urgency or seriousness on your part, to avoid committing the traffic contravention.

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 £60 PCN will be worth £90 if you pay it in the 14 days after receiving your charge certificate.

Can I only challenge a Coventry City PCN on the official website?

Yes, you can only challenge a Coventry City PCN by using the formal representation form on the Coventry City Council website.

You need to begin brainstorming reasons to challenge a Coventry City PCN from the day of the incident and list them down in a word processing software or on paper. It is essential to have some authentic evidence to attach with your PCN appeal in the form of video footage of the traffic violation, medical certificates explaining your mitigating circumstances or pay and display tickets.

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 the Coventry City Council. Your Coventry City PCN appeal can be initiated by clicking here. On this webpage you will see a chat window with the chatbot, Max. You need to interact with the chatbot by providing your PCN Number and Vehicle Registration Number. Once these details are verified by the virtual assistant, you can type in your PCN appeal with relevant reasons and evidence (which can be uploaded to the system).

After logging in to the Coventry City PCN database, you can proceed to register your formal representation and upload evidence material backing your case.

Once you have proofread your appeal to eliminate any reasons for your challenge which might convey a disregard for traffic contravention codes enforced in Coventry City council (by mixing up the contraventions) or reasons which involve forgetfulness to justify your actions, you can submit the formal representation

If the Coventry 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.

Which moving traffic contravention codes are enforced in Coventry City Council?

The following moving traffic contravention codes are enforced in Coventry City Council:

Code 31 Entering and stopping your vehicle inside a box junction or preventing vehicles behind you from moving out of a box junction. A vehicle may pause at a box junction for a certain period of time in order to make a right turn at the traffic signal.

Code 32 (Left turn) Failing to steer your vehicle or guide your vehicle in the direction of an arrow shown inside a blue-colored sign.

Code 32 ( Left turn ahead) Failing to slow your vehicle or steer it correctly into the approaching sharp left turn on the road. This direction is displayed on a traffic sign by a (left curved) white arrow enclosed in a blue-colored sign.

Code 32 (One-way traffic) Failing to drive on the correct side of the road or approaching the (one-way) lane from the opposite side. This traffic sign is indicated by an upward pointing white arrow enclosed in a blue-colored sign.

Code 33 (Using a street or road where restrictions are in place) Failing to adhere to the restrictions on vehicles entering a bus and cycle (only) lane. This traffic sign is indicated by a depiction of a bus and a cycle above it.

Code 33 (Using a street or road where restrictions are in place)) Failing to adhere to the restrictions on vehicles entering a tramcar-only road or street. This traffic sign shows a depiction of a tramcar, enclosed in a blue-colored sign.

Code 37 is applied to charge vehicles for failing to leave a space for vehicles moving in the opposite direction. The sign indicates a priority to be given to vehicles from the other direction on the road which means slowing down and keeping your car aligned to the left side of the road. The road sign shows a larger black-colored arrow pointing downwards to the right of a smaller red-colored arrow pointing upwards.

Code 37 (Giving way to oncoming vehicles) indicates drivers give way to vehicles moving in the opposite direction. The road sign for the contravention has the following sentence printed in black “Give way to oncoming vehicles”

Code 38 indicates drivers to keep their vehicles on the left or right side of the road. This moving traffic contravention is indicated by a downward pointing arrow tilted toward the left side or a downward pointing arrow tilted toward the right side.

Code 50 (Making a banned turn) This contravention code indicates no right turn for vehicular traffic. The road sign for the traffic contravention is shown by a red prohibition symbol on a right-curved black arrow

Code 50 (Making a banned turn) This contravention code indicates no left turn fpr vehicular traffic. The road sign for the traffic contravention is indicated by a red prohibition symbol on a left curved black arrow.

Code 50 (Making a banned turn) This contravention code indicates the prohibition of a U-turn at the location. The road sign for this traffic contravention displays a red prohibition symbol on an (n-shaped) arrow which shows a vehicle making a u-turn.

Code 51 ( Not following a no entry sign) This contravention code indicates the breach of a no entry sign.

Code 52 (Using a street or road where restrictions are in place) Failing to adhere to the restrictions on vehicles entering a lane only used by non-mechanically propelled vehicles used by pedestrians. This traffic sign is indicated by a red colored circle.

Code 52 (Using a street or road where restrictions are in place) Failing to adhere to the restrictions on motor vehicles entering a certain street. This traffic sign is indicated by the depiction of a motorbike above a car.

Code 52 (Using a street or road where restrictions are in place)) Failing to adhere to the restrictions on all motor vehicles except solo motorcycles. This traffic sign is indicated by the depiction of a car.

Code 52 (Using a street or road where restrictions are in place) Failing to adhere to the restrictions on all motor vehicles except cars. This traffic sign is indicated by the depiction of a motorcycle.

Code 52 (Using a restricted street or road) Failing to adhere to the restrictions on goods vehicles exceeding the maximum weight limit.. This traffic sign is indicated by the depiction of a goods vehicle with the weight limit, in tonnes stated inside the vehicle symbol

Code 53 (Using a street or road where restrictions are in place) Failing to adhere to the restrictions on vehicles entering a pedestrian-only lane. This traffic sign is indicated by a sign displaying the words “Pedestrian Zone” above a circle containing a motorcycle and a car the days for the Pedestrian Zone restrictions to be applicable are stated under the sign. There are specific operational hours for loading vehicles under these restrictions stated under the sign.

How much is the PCN fine for each of the 3 kinds of PCNs served in Coventry City Council?

A Parking PCN in Coventry City Council is served for violating higher or lower level parking restrictions. You have to pay £70 for committing a higher level parking contravention and £50 for a lower level parking contravention. If you pay the parking fine within 14 days, you will just be paying £35 or £25 as a 50% discount is applicable to your payment.

For failing to comply with a bus lane contravention code or a moving traffic restriction in Coventry City Council, you will be charged a £70 Penalty Charge Notice. The 50% early payment discount reduces both these types of PCN fines to £35, if a bus lane PCN is paid within 21 days and a moving traffic PCN is paid within 14 days

How Can I Pay my Coventry City PCN fine?

You can pay a Coventry City PCN by visiting the online payments webpage, in person at the Coventry City Council customer care centre or by calling on the Coventry City Council’s automated payments hotline.

If you choose to make your PCN fine payment online, you should visit the Coventry City Council website. On this page you need to select “Fines and Penalty Payments” from the Accounts Group menu and “Fines Parking” from the accounts type for paying a Coventry City Parking PCN or Moving Traffic PCN. Once you have selected these 2 options, you will be shown fields for reference number and amount. You need to enter your PCN Number and the exact amount mentioned on your parking PCN to pay the fine.After this you also have to enter your payment card details to complete the PCN payment.

On this page you need to select “Fines and Penalty Payments” from the Accounts Group menu and “Fines Bus Lane” from the accounts type for paying a Coventry City Bus Lane PCN. Once you have selected these 2 options, you will be shown fields for reference number and amount. You need to enter your PCN Number and the exact amount mentioned on your parking PCN to pay the fine. You should not leave your screen idle as this page times out after 5 minutes, so you will have to type in the information again,

After this you also have to enter your payment card details to complete the Bus Lane PCN payment. Coventry City Council accepts Mastercard, Visa Card, Maestro Card, Solo Card and Visa Electron card for PCN fine payments. Diners card and American Express card are not accepted for making PCN payments.

You might want to call on the Coventry City Council’s automated payments hotline to pay your PCN. For this you have to call on 024 7678 7778. On the call you will need to enter your PCN number and payment card details. You can use the * key to enter the letters in your PCN number. This payment hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You should wait to receive a confirmation code for your PCN payment before ending the call.

You can also pay your PCN by visiting the Coventry City Customer Care Centre. This Customer Service Centre is located at:

Customer Service Centre,

3 Upper Precinct,

CV1 1FS

You can visit at any time between 9am and 5pm, from Monday to Friday. Paying your PCN at the Customer Service Centre should be used as a last option if you are unable to pay online or on the automated payments hotline. Due to the situation faced by Coventry City council owing to the coronavirus (Covid-19), this office gives priority to dealing with requests made by homeless people and those applying for community care grants as their needs require urgent attention.

What will happen if I don’t pay my Coventry 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 Coventry City Council. As per your driving license rules, you are bound to abide by Parking, Bus Lane, and Moving Traffic contravention codes in Coventry City Council.

If you neither pay your Coventry 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 Coventry 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 Coventry PCN with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal if the Coventry City Council dismisses my appeal?

Yes, you can dispute the decision of the Coventry City 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 Coventry City 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 the Coventry City 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 Coventry 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 Coventry City Council.

Conclusion

This blog post addressed the question “How Can I Challenge A Coventry PCN?” You have to actively collect evidence which can potentially be used for supporting your PCN appeals in the future. This evidence should be focused on proving that you did not commit the traffic violation, such as video recordings of your vehicle successfully avoiding a banned turn or restricted bus lane. Each reason for challenging your Coventry PCN must be backed by specific evidence from the scene of the traffic violation which can also include a written statement from a bystander who was present at the location.

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How Can I Challenge A Coventry PCN?