How Can I Challenge A Parking PCN with the contravention code 66?

This blog serves to answer the question “How Can I Challenge A Parking PCN with the contravention code 66?” You have to remember how you drove your vehicle along the street in question that day and be sure that you did not stop or park your vehicle on the footway before adding evidence to support your case. The evidence material is crucial to prove that you did not pause or park your vehicle even for a moment on the footway, verge or street during your drive that day.

How Can I Challenge A Parking PCN with the contravention code 66?

You can challenge a parking PCN with the contravention code 66 by clearly showing that your vehicle did not stop or park on the footway (or verge of the road) and by attaching sound supporting evidence backing your case in your online or written appeal. 

The Parking contravention code 66 is used to charge vehicles for being parked incorrectly on street and on the footway besides the street. If you have a problem with your vehicle or are forced to leave your vehicle in such a location while you cater to some important business it is advisable to remember that a Penalty Charge Notice for this offense will be worth £70. There is almost no escaping the charge once you leave your vehicle on the street, footway or verge of the road.

The only way to get your PCN cancelled is by uploading a video clip clearly showing how your vehicle did not stop in the street or on the footway and proceeded from the location on its route to your destination. Your video footage should be filmed in high definition and have the date stamp matching the time of your parking contravention. 

You can also use photographs instead of the video clip if you are sending in your PCN challenge by mail. These can be created by taking snapshots from your video clip and saving them on your computer to print out and send in with your filled in Notice to Owner document.

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. 

Which Parking contravention codes can be enforced by Penalty Charge Notices?

The following Parking contravention codes can be enforced by Penalty Charge Notices:

• For a vehicle that has been parked in a prohibited street during prescribed hours. Vehicles are not allowed to park on yellow lines during prescribed hours except those driven by a blue badge holder (a person registered as disabled). Contravention Code 1

• For a vehicle that has been parked in a restricted street within 15 meters of a junction (on double yellow lines) Contravention Code 01x

• For a  vehicle that has been parked in violation of traffic cones in a street that has been closed off. Contravention Code 01P

• For a vehicle that has been parked in a resident’s parking zone without having a valid parking permit or a valid pay and display ticket.

• For a vehicle that has been parked in a resident’s parking zone (in the pay and display bay) following the expiry of a pay and display ticket. A pay and display ticket should be purchased for the entire duration of time you might have to park your vehicle in a particular spot. 

So if you might need to spend 20-30 minutes more you should probably choose a different parking ticket in the first place.

• For a vehicle that has been left parked in any pay and display bay not clearly showing the parking ticket. The pay and display ticket should be properly visible to the CEO or CCTV camera watching the parking bay. A 5 minute observation period will be granted to fix the situation before issuing the PCN

• For a vehicle that has been brought into and parked within the same parking bay within one hour or any other specified no return time limit (after leaving the parking area.)

• For a vehicle that has not been parked entirely inside the markings of a parking bay and with one full wheel shown to be beyond the correct limits of a parking zone space.

• For exceeding a vehicle parking ticket’s time limit by 10 minutes or more. Blue Badge or disabled parking holders are exempt from this rule

• For being parked in a disabled person’s reserved parking space without clearly showing a blue badge

• For a vehicle incorrectly parked in a mandatory cycle lane instead of being parked in a parking bay.

• For a vehicle that has been left parked on any portion of or inside a school keep clear marking.

• For a vehicle that has been left parked within a pedestrian zone. It also applies to a vehicle’s entry into a pedestrian zone, as vehicle entry is banned from these areas.

• For vehicles that have been left parked on any portion of the footpath located adjacent to a pedestrian crossing.

• For a vehicle that has failed to move out of a pedestrian crossing area in time or has been braked or brought to rest by a driver on a pedestrian crossing.

Why have I been charged a PCN with the contravention code 66?

You can only be charged a PCN with the contravention code 66 if you have left your vehicle parked on the footway, verge or on the street. This PCN ensures that vehicles are not left idle on the street while their driver uses the neighbouring localities, and you need to generally remember that you have to leave your vehicle parked in a proper location or parking zone.

Car parks and parking bays are specifically available for this purpose and your vehicle is safer inside one than on the street as it will not be towed away or charged with a PCN.

Can I submit a challenge to a PCN with the contravention code 66 on the council website?

You need to access the online formal representation form on the council website by entering your PCN number and your Vehicle Registration Number. In some cases you have to enter your PCN Number and your Contravention Code Number which is 66 Some councils also require you to enter a Web Code mentioned on your Penalty Charge Notice to access your Penalty Charge Notice details.

You need to select a formal or informal representation option on the website depending on the kind of PCN you have received. An informal challenge is only required for a CCTV Bus Lane PCN or a Parking PCN served by a CEO which had to be delivered by post. So generally if your PCN has been sent by mail, you have to submit an informal representation on the council website or by email, before you can get a chance to register a formal representation. If you left the scene of the traffic violation without taking your Penalty Charge Notice or were charged by a CCTV camera, you need to register an informal representation first.

On some council websites you have to select the contravention code (mentioned on your PCN) from a list of options and then choose an acceptable reason for your appeal from another list, Here it is important to understand that this reason that is being chosen will also be the same reason you will mention in your written formal representation and you have to provide authentic evidence material for proving the grounds of your appeal as well.

It is advisable to prepare the contents of your PCN challenge by typing it into a word processor first and eliminating any reasons which cannot be supported by available evidence material or which do not conform to the established grounds for challenging the relevant contravention code. Once you have ensured that your explanation reinforces the evidence material you are going to upload with your formal representation, you can copy the text into the online formal representation form.

Evidence to use with your PCN challenge can be stored inside a folder on your computer by filming video clips of your road journeys in the council, which can be used to show how the traffic contravention never happened or help to explain your mitigating circumstances. Other evidence files in picture formats or pdf, doc formats can also be saved in separate folders for easy access.

You could have some authentic miitgating circumstances for challenging the parking PCN for leaving your vehicle parked on a footway or in the middle of the street,, such as a medical condition that led you to abandon your vehicle. But this must be a genuinely serious condition requiring immediate medical attention and also previously diagnosed by a licensed General Practitioner. Such a case being relatively unlikely because even if you faced an emergency, you could leave your vehicle at a better spot or ask someone to help you out. It is best not to mention mitigating circumstances for challenging a Parking PCN with the contravention code 66.

You never know when you might be handed a PCN so it is essential to always be prepared with evidence from your vehicle’s journeys in the parking zones, road junctions and highways in the council. It will be difficult for you to suddenly come up with evidence to use with a PCN challenge within 28 days and all this information would be lost unless you actively donate some time and effort into collecting and preserving evidence material..

Can I also challenge the moving traffic PCN with the contravention code 66 by mail?

The second method for challenging your PCN which is available in most councils is by using the postal service. You can write your formal representation on the last page of your Notice to Owner document or in a printed downloadable form (in some cases) and send it by mail to the council’s address.

You must remember to attach evidence material with your letter in this case as it is an essential component of your formal representation. Photographs from the traffic violation scene filmed by a passenger travelling with you, medical certificates to explain your mitigating circumstances such as a serious health condition or a pay and display ticket (for challenging a Parking PCN) can be placed inside a small transparent file or stapled to your Notice to Owner Document. 

You can mention a checklist of your evidence material at the end of your PCN challenge to ensure that no item escapes the attention of the parking officer judging your case. Another important point to remember when sending in your PCN challenge by mail is that first class mail takes 1 to 2 days to deliver your formal representation to the council and second class mail takes between 3 to 5 days. So you need to send in your appeal by the 22nd day after receiving your PCN, at the latest.

This formal representation can also first be typed into a word processing software such as MS word to remove any unclear sentences or reasons which display a lack of awareness of the contravention code, as all such grounds for a PCN challenge will be rejected. You can write down the same sentences on paper once you have matched the text of your formal representation with your available evidence material and clearly explained the cause and effect relationship between any mitigating circumstances which led to the traffic violation.

Can I further challenge a Parking PCN with the London Tribunals if my appeal is dismissed by my local council (inside London)?

If you have received a PCN from a council of a local London Authority or by Transport for London, you can dispute your Notice of Rejection of Representations (from the Council) with the London Tribunals. Your Notice of Rejection of Representations has a form attached to it which needs to be completed.and posted to the London Tribunals. What you will write on the form will be the text of your appeal to the Notice of Rejection served by your council and needs to be carefully composed by mentioning your mitigating circumstances which led to the traffic violation or by stating how you think the traffic restriction was never breached. 

The contents of your appeal to the London Tribunals need to be based around evidence material as the London Tribunals is rejudging a case decided by your local council and will be provided by strong evidence from them to contest the trial.

Regardless of whichever council (local London Authority)you have recieved a moving traffic PCN from, you need to send the completed form to the following address (and ensure that you allow upto 2 days for first class mail to deliver your challenge and upto 5 days for second class mail) :

London Tribunals,

PO Box 10598,

Nottingham,

NG6 6DR

If you would prefer a quicker way to send in your challenge to the London Tribunals you can visit the London Tribunals Website. You can also choose to dispute the “Notice of Rejection” from your council with the London Tribunals online by clicking on the “Access the Appellants Portal” button on this webpage. 

All you will be required to do is simply enter your Vehicle Registration Number, PCN number, and the reference number or code from your “Notice of Rejection of Representations” letter. Evidence to be uploaded here can be different from the evidence material you have used to support the formal representation sent to your local council but the evidence needs to be properly matched with the case you have argued in your appeal to the London Tribunals.

 For your PCN with the contravention code 66, you need to clearly show the London Tribunals that you did not park your vehicle in the middle of a road, on the footway or on the verge of a road. . Solid evidence relating to your traffic violation has to be ready to send to the London Tribunals which refutes the case put forward by your council. 

You cannot challenge this PCN by providing mitigating circumstances as there are almost know emergency situations which compel you to leave your vehicle idle in the middle of a street or on the footway.

 The London Tribunals is an independent adjudicating authority and it impartially considers the case put forward by your council and your version of the events at the traffic violation scene. So if you have some crucial evidence that shows something new which escaped the knowledge of the council or the CCTV camera monitoring the traffic violation scene, the London Tribunals will consider these details to be true.

Can I further dispute a Parking PCN with the contravention code 66 at the Traffic Penalty Tribunal if my local council (outside London) has dismissed my challenge?

A parking PCN served from a local authority outside London can further be disputed with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal is responsible for addressing challenges to Notices of Rejections of Representations from councils in England (outside London) and in Wales.

The Traffic Penalty Tribunal website requires you to enter details given on your Notice of Rejection of Representations, after opening this webpage. Once you have entered these details, you can click on “Next” to access the Traffic Penalty Tribunal PCN challenge portal. Before you can access this challenge portal, you need to click on “Start Your Appeal Here” on this webpage and “Submit and Appeal To The Traffic Penalty Tribunal Now” on this webpage. If you access the Traffic Penalty Tribunal’s main webpage, you need to first select the kind of PCN for which you have received a Notice of Rejection from your council. 

In this case with the PCN contravention code 66, your Penalty Charge Notice is a Parking PCN. After this you will be redirected to the webpage where you have to select England (outside London). Once you click on England (outside London), you will be led to this webpage where you need to click on “Submit Your Appeal To The Traffic Penalty Tribunal Now”

You can watch this instructional video here to learn about your challenge process.  The Traffic Penalty Tribunal requires you to create an email address unless you already have one to dispute your council’s Notice of Rejection of Representations on its website. It is important for you to submit your challenge on the Traffic Penalty Tribunal Website within 28 days of being sent your Notice of Rejection to your Parking PCN..

Conclusion

This blog post addressed the question “How Can I Challenge A Parking PCN with the contravention code 66?” You have to attach evidence with your PCN challenge that clearly convinces your local council of your innocence in the case and this needs to be a video clip which has your vehicle passing by the street on the exact date and time. As a driver you must always remember the first thing to consider when parking your vehicle is to ensure that you are leaving it in a proper area or parking zone (intended for your vehicle).