How Can I Challenge A Norwich PCN?:
This blog serves to answer the question “How Can I Challenge A Norwich PCN?” You need to be able to remember the traffic contravention codes applicable to Parking, Bus Lane and Moving Traffic contraventions in order to properly understand the different rules regulating these traffic restrictions. Your PCN challenge needs to be professionally formulated and compiled into a formal challenge by using high level language skills and grammar which allows for the contravention codes to be mentioned in your appeal.
How Can I Challenge A Norwich PCN?
You should be challenging a Norwich PCN on the Norwich City Council website or by writing to Norwich City Council’s Parking Services mailing address. These are the 2 basic ways of sending in your Norwich PCN challenge to a Parking, Bus Lane or Moving Traffic PCN.
You can use the contravention code on your Norwich PCN as a guide to challenging your Penalty Charge Notice, for instance if the contravention code is 50, which is a moving traffic contravention, you need to prove that you did not make a banned turn. This turn may be a u-turn, right turn or left turn depending on the sign behind the no sign (on the road sign).
So you need to successfully prove that you never made this turn and continued on your path correctly along the road, by using a video clip of the incident that shows your vehicle moving in the direction that avoids the banned turn. This authentic video clip can be filmed by someone travelling with you and saved on your computer, it can be a part of a series of daily videos of your road journeys in Norwich City Council.
You have to remember that this kind of PCN cannot be challenged by using any mitigating circumstances as there can be no special reasons for you to breach a traffic sign and turn your vehicle incorrectly. You have to mention your legitimate reasons in your PCN challenge and edit the text for clarity and forgetfulness before copying it into the formal representation form on the Norwich City Council website.
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 Norwich PCN?
You can submit a formal representation to your Norwich PCN by writing a letter addressed to the Norwich City Council or by filling in the online formal representation form on the Norwich City Council’s official website.
You need to brainstorm reasons for challenging a Norwich 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 Norwich City Council. You need to visit the Norwich City Council website to submit a formal representation to your PCN. You have to open this webpage to enter your PCN number and your Vehicle Registration Number. You need to click on “Search” 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 Norwich City 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 Norwich City 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 Norwich City 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 Norwich 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 here. To access the form you need to enter your PCN number and vehicle registration number on this webpage.
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 Norwich PCN challenge is by mail. You can write a formal representation to the Norwich City Council on the reverse of your “Notice to Owner” document. This handwritten appeal should be composed gradually by incorporating all the available evidence material to support the grounds for your challenge and should be able to convince the council of your mitigating circumstances (or other acceptable reasons).
You should view evidence relating to your Norwich PCN online before writing down your appeal, so that you end up focusing on refuting the contents of the CCTV video or photographs or your traffic violation. Your PCN appeals form and all accompanying evidence documents (enclosed in an envelope) need to be sent to:
Parking Services,
County Hall,
PO Box 811,
Exeter EX1 9WA
The Norwich City Council 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 Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
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.
How much is the PCN fine for each of the 3 kinds of PCNs served in the Norwich City Council?
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 Norwich 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
A Parking PCN in the Norwich City Council is served for violating higher or lower level parking restrictions
What will happen if I don’t pay my Norwich PCN within the 28-day limit?
Your Norwich PCN must not be taken lightly as it will be enforced by the council even if you try to evade the payment. It is your responsibility as a driver using the roads of the Norwich City Council to follow Parking, Bus Lane and Moving traffic contravention codes.
If you fail to pay your Norwich PCN within the 28-day limit you will be sent a charge certificate from the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. The charge certificate increases your PCN fine by 50%. 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 Norwich City Council.
When the charge certificate is also not paid within 14 days, you will receive a “Notice of Debt Registration” and a witness certificate from the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. 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.
Can I Dispute A Norwich PCN with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal if the Norwich City Council dismisses my appeal?
Yes, you can dispute the decision of the Norwich 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 Norwich 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 Norwich 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 Norwich
City Council. You must avail 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 Norwich City Council.
Conclusion
This blog post addressed the question “How Can I Challenge A Norwich PCN?” You can challenge a Norwich City PCN by mentioning that the traffic violation never happened or by contesting that it occurred owing to your legitimate mitigating circumstances. You need to have evidence available with you for use to support your PCN challenge and this can only be there if you proactively expect being handed a PCN anyday.