How Can I Challenge A Knutsford Town Council PCN?
This blog serves to answer the question “How Can I Challenge A Knutsford Town Council PCN?” You must memorise all the Parking, Bus Lane and Moving Traffic Contravention codes enforced at different locations in Knutsford Town Council in order to avoid ending up with a PCN which cannot be successfully challenged. The most commonly used form of evidence for supporting a PCN challenge is video footage of the scene which clearly demonstrates how your vehicle was being driven and can also show any mitigating circumstances influencing your actions.
How Can I Challenge A Knutsford Town Council PCN?
Knutsford Town is a part of Cheshire East Borough Council and Cheshire East Borough Council is responsible for serving and dealing with Penalty Charge Notices in the Town Council.
The Cheshire East Borough Council will also decide the result of your PCN challenge and will either choose to withdraw your PCN or send you a Notice of Rejection of Representations. So your Knutsford Town PCN is actually a Cheshire East PCN. as the town forms a part of Cheshire East Borough Council.
You should write down your Knutsford PCN challenge in a word processing software first and match the grounds for your appeal with the established grounds for contesting the relevant contravention. These grounds can be for online stated seperately for each kind of Penalty Charge Notice. Parking contravention codes can be challenged by using mitigating circumstances or by using authentic evidence such as photographs to show that you didn’t commit the violation. The Cheshire East Borough Council should be able to match your evidence with its available CCTV footage to find the missing links which prove that your Penalty Charge Notice was served in error.
Your PCN will not be cancelled unless you can provide authentic evidence to clearly show your legitimate mitigating circumstances (which must be serious enough to affect your driving abilities or an unavoidable situation which led you to breach the relevant restriction). If you are asserting that the traffic violation never happened, you also have to attach video footage or photographs showing your vehicle avoiding a restricted bus lane (contravention code 32M or 32F). Similary you can also challenge a Moving Traffic PCN by using digital camera recordings to show that your vehicle did not make a banned turn or disregard a traffic sign as it kept moving in the correct direction.
In order to challenge a PCN you have to be observant of traffic contraventions in the council and actively attempt to avoid breaching Parking, Bus Lane and Moving Traffic Restrictions. A lack of awareness of enforced contraventions cannot be defended as the Cheshire East Borough Council has clearly observed you violating the restriction (through it’s CCTV cameras).
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. CCTV cameras and Civil Enforcement Officers observe traffic contraventions 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.
What is the procedure for appealing against a Knutsford PCN?
You can submit a formal representation to your Knutsford PCN by writing a letter addressed to the Cheshire East Council or by filling in the online formal representation form on the Cheshire East Council website..
You need to brainstorm reasons to challenge a Knutsford PCN from the day of the incident and list them down in word processing software or on paper. 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 Cheshire East Borough Council.
You need to visit the Cheshire East Borough Council website to submit a formal representation to your PCN. You have to open this webpage for filling in your online formal representation for. First you will need to confirm that you have read the supporting information on acceptable mitigating circumstances (for a Parking PCN).After selecting “Yes” you can enter your personal information on the next page .
This includes your title, name, surname, email address and postcode. Now, you have to click “next” to provide your PCN number and vehicle registration number and proceed to enter your PCN challenge..
You can view CCTV camera footage of your traffic contravention before constructing your PCN appeal. You should preferably have one of the reasons given in the mitigating circumstances list to back your Parking PCN challeng
It is essential to upload authentic evidence material with your PCN challenge to describe your mitigating circumstances to the Cheshire East Borough Council 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 Knutsford Town Council (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 Knutsford PCN challenge is by mail. You can write down a formal representation on paper and attach evidence documents or photographs to the form using a stapler or paper clip. Your letter should mention your PCN number, date of issue of the PCN, your vehicle registration number, and personal details.
Evidence to support your formal representation can be attached to the form using a stapler or paper clip. Your PCN appeals form and all accompanying evidence documents (enclosed in an envelope) need to be sent to:
Cheshire East Borough Council,
Parking Services,
Municipal Buildings,
Earle Street,
Crewe,
CW1 2BJ
How much is the PCN fine for each of the 3 kinds of PCNs served in Knutsford Town Council?
A Parking PCN in Knutsford Town 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 Knutsford Town 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 Knutsford Town PCN?
You can pay your Knutsford PCN by using the postal service, by telephone, or on the Cheshire East Borough Council website online here.
The Cheshire East Borough Council website provides an online payment service for PCN fines. You need to click on “Parking Penalty” on the council’s online payments page for opening the next window. In this window you will be asked for your PCN number. Once you have entered your PCN number, you should type in the amount of the PCN fine, which depends on how many days have passed since the PCN was issued. You can enter one of the 4 amounts applicable to your PCN from a choice of £70, £35, £50 or £25. If you enter this amount incorrectly your fine will remain unpaid.
Your vehicle registration number also has to be entered to initiate the payment process. In the next window, you will be required to provide your payment card details. The Cheshire East Borough Council accepts VisaCard, MasterCard, Maestro Card, DeltaCard and Electron Card.Payments made by credit or debit cards before 5pm will be credited to your account on that date
You can also pay your Knutsford PCN on Cheshire East Borough Council’s automated payments hotline by dialling: 0300 123 5039. Next, you will be required to provide your payment card details, PCN Number, and vehicle registration number. When entering your PCN number, you should replace each letter with a * sign. This payment hotline is active 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The Cheshire East Borough Council also accepts PCN fine payments by post. You need to send a check or postal order to “Cheshire East Borough Council”. You can write down your PCN Number and Vehicle Registration Number on the back of your check or postal order.
Send your PCN fine payment to this address:
Cheshire East Borough Council Parking Services,
Municipal Buildings,
Crewe,
CW1 2BJ
What will happen if I don’t pay my Knutsford 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 Knutsford Town Council. Per your driving license rules, you are bound to abide by Parking, Bus Lane, and Moving Traffic contravention codes in Knutsford Town Council.
If you neither pay your Knutsford 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 Cheshire East Borough 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 Knutsford PCN with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal if the Council dismisses my appeal?
Yes, you can dispute the decision of the Cheshire East Borough 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 Cheshire East Borough 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 Cheshire East Borough 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 Cheshire East Borough 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 Cheshire East Borough Council.
Conclusion
This blog post addressed the question “How Can I Challenge A Knutsford Town Council PCN?” The aim of your Knutsford PCN challenge is to demonstrate to the Parking Officer that you committed the traffic violation due to genuine mitigating circumstances and had actively attempted to avoid the contravention. It is essential to first collect evidence relating to the grounds you want to mention in your formal representation because your words will only be effective if they are supported by facts to show your point of view.