How Can I Challenge A Lytham St. Annes PCN?
This blog serves to answer the question “How Can I Challenge A Lytham St. Annes PCN?” A formal representation is incomplete without authentic evidence material to prove the grounds of your appeal. The wording of your PCN challenge should include references to the contravention code and either a clear denial of the alleged contravention taking place (supported by authentic photographs or other appropriate evidence material) or a proper explanation of your mitigating circumstances leading to the driving error.
How Can I Challenge A Lytham St. Annes PCN?
You can challenge a Lytham St. Annes PCN by visiting the Chipside Lancashire website or by writing a formal representation and mailing it to Chipside Lancashire. As Fylde Borough Council is responsible for enforcing Parking, Bus Lane, and Moving Traffic contraventions at locations across Lytham St. Annes Town Council, you need to visit the Chipside Lancashire website or send a written formal representation on their Parking Services address to challenge your Lytham St. Annes PCN.
The Fylde 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 Lytham St. Annes PCN is actually a Fylde Borough Council PCN. as the town forms a part of Fylde Borough Council.
What is more important than deciding how to submit your Lytham St. Annes PCN challenge is to attach proper evidence to support the grounds for your formal representation. This evidence can only be available to you once you are given a PCN if you have made an effort to collect your used pay and display ticket or to record photographs and video clips of your road journeys in Lytham St. Annes Town Council.
A CCTV Bus Lane or CCTV Parking camera may miss out on some of the details which you can provide from a closer angle if you (or someone with you) have made an alternative video of the scene. If you don’t invest some resources and make it a habit of creating a video log of your road trips, precious (potential) evidence will be lost forever. This data should be uploaded to your computer and stored in a separate folder, with the document name mentioning the date stamp from the video or still photograph.
It is essential that you formulate a strong appeals case before submitting your formal representation to the Fylde Borough 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.
What is the procedure for appealing against a Lytham St. Annes PCN?
As Fylde Borough Council is responsible for enforcing Parking, Bus Lane, and Moving Traffic contraventions at locations across Lytham St. Annes Town Council, you need to visit the chipside lancashire website or send a written formal representation on their Parking Services address to challenge your Lytham St. Annes PCN. The Fylde 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.
Chipside Lancashire is the partnership between West Lancashire Borough Council, Fylde Borough Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, Chorley Borough Council, Ribble Valley Borough Council, Burnley Borough Council, Pendle City Council and Pendle Borough Council. Each council only uses the Chipside Lancashire online PCN appeals (database) and payments service for dealing with Penalty Charge Notices. You can submit a formal representation to your Lytham St. Annes PCN by writing a PCN challenge addressed to Chipside Lancashire or by filling in the online formal representation form on the Chipside Lancashire challenge PCN webpage (the link on the Fylde Borough Council website redirects to this webpage as well).
You need to brainstorm reasons for challenging a Lytham St. Annes PCN from the day of the incident and list them down in 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 Fylde Council. You need to visit the Chipside Lancashire website to submit a formal representation to your PCN. You have to open this webpage to enter your PCN number, your Vehicle Registration Number and a Web Code mentioned on your PCN. You need to click on “Next” 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 the Fylde Borough Council and for explaining your point of view of the events which took place at the traffic violation scene. If you made a video clip of your traffic contravention, you should save snapshots from it by using a video player or video editing software.
Most video players such as VLC player allow you to slow down your video frame by frame and thus take ( a collection of) snapshots to attach with your Lytham St. Annes PCN challenge.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 the Fylde Borough Council (by mixing up the contraventions) or reasons which involve forgetfulness to justify your actions, you can submit the formal representation.
You can also submit an informal representation to your Lytham St Annes PCN (CCTV Bus Lane PCN or a Parking PCN served by a CEO which had to be delivered by post) by accessing your PCN details on the Chipside Lancashire website.To access the form you need to enter your PCN number (Notice Number) and vehicle registration number on this page.
You have to fill out the informal representation form by typing your full name, email address, and the contents of your informal representation. Once you are sure that you have constructed a strong appeals case to make the council grant you a formal representation, you can submit your form. The informal appeals stage is applicable to PCNs sent by post.
Another way to send in your Lytham St. Annes PCN challenge is by mail. You should view the evidence relating to your Parking, Bus Lane or Moving Traffic contravention before writing down the appeal. Chipside Lancashire handles PCN appeals from Lytham St. Annes Town Council and will decide the result of your formal representation to the Fylde Borough Council.
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.
Your PCN appeals form and all accompanying evidence documents (enclosed in an envelope) need to be sent to:
Chipside Lancashire
PO Box 3584,
Chippenham,
Wiltshire,
SN15 9EF
How much is the PCN fine for each of the 3 kinds of PCNs served in Lytham St. Annes Town Council?
A Parking PCN in Lytham St. Annes 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 Lytham St. Annes 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 Lytham St. Annes PCN fine?
You can pay your Lytham St. Annes PCN fine online or by sending a check or postal order payable to “Chipside Lancashire”. The PCN fine can be paid online on Chipside Lancashire’s official website (using Visa Card, Master Card, Delta Card, Solo Card or Maestro Card) This payment method saves time and is also more precise as your details are entered directly into an electronic database.
You need to enter your vehicle registration number and Parking PCN number after opening this webpage to initiate the PCN fine payment online. After clicking “Next” you will be shown your Penalty Charge Notice information on the chipside lancashire website and in the next window, you can enter your payment card details. You must remember to wait for 24 hours after your higher level Parking PCN is issued before attempting to pay it.
You can also pay your Lytham St. Annes PCN by sending a check or postal order payable to “Chipside Lancashire”. You also need to attach the payment slip in your “Notice To Owner” document to this payment. The check or postal order should have your PCN number and Vehicle Registration Number written at the back. This payment needs to be sent to:
Chipside Lancashire
PO Box 3584,
Chippenham,
Wiltshire,
SN15 9EF
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 Lytham St. Annes Bus Lane PCN within 21 days, you will have to pay just £35.
What will happen if I don’t pay my Lytham St.Annes 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 Fylde Borough Council. Per your driving license rules, you are bound to abide by Parking, Bus Lane, and Moving Traffic contravention codes in Fylde Borough Council.
If you neither pay your Lytham St. Annes 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 Fylde 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 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 Lytham St. Annes PCN with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal if the Fylde Borough Council dismisses my appeal?
Yes, you can dispute the decision of the Fylde 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 Fylde 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 Fylde 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 Fylde 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 Fylde Borough Council.
Conclusion
This blog post addressed the question “How Can I Challenge A Lytham St. Annes PCN?” Unless you create a habit of preserving copies of your pay and display tickets, keeping a list or map of locations where traffic contraventions are enforced in Fylde Borough Council, and of maintaining a record of photographs or videos of your vehicle (by using a digital camera or high definition camcorder) while travelling on the roads of Lytham St. Annes Town, you will not be able to find proper evidence to attach with your PCN appeal. Making a Lytham St. Annes PCN challenge on the council website is the best way to attach large volumes of evidence material to support your case.