How Can I Challenge A Small Heath PCN?
This blog serves to answer the question “How Can I Challenge A Small Heath PCN?” You need to be well prepared for getting a Small Heath PCN in order to effectively manage your time while constructing your PCN challenge. The text of your PCN challenge must illustrate your version of events as they happened at the traffic violation scene.
How Can I Challenge A Small Heath PCN?
You can challenge a Small Heath PCN by filling in the online formal representation form on the Birmingham City Council website or by writing a representation on your Notice to Owner document (which also serves as a form) and mailing it in to the Birmingham City Council (Highways) address.
There are a few main things you need to keep in mind before writing down your Small Heath PCN challenge. The first of these is that your evidence forms the basis of your appeal and your formal representation is incomplete without it. So how do you come up with evidence from the past (at the scene of your traffic violation)?
The answer is simple, you need to capture the moment on camera with you while you are driving your vehicle. Even though you don’t know whether you will end up with a PCN or not, you can regularly film videos of your road journeys in Birmingham City Council within the intention of anticipating being given a PCN.
These video clips will come in handy when you are served a PCN and actually have genuine evidence to support your formal representation. Your evidence simply shows what you know to be true, which is that the traffic violation didn’t happen and this can be shown by a clip of your vehicle avoiding a banned turn (or being parked correctly in its given parking space).
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 fine or monetary penalty for driving offences. A PCN can be issued for any legal traffic contravention, such as a parking contravention, moving traffic contravention or bus lane violation.
The charges of your PCN will also vary depending on whether it has been issued for a higher level violation or for a lower level violation. A PCN may also be served for refusing to pay road charges.
A PCN may be issued by a Civil Enforcement Officer or by CCTV. You will be given a period of 28 days to respond to a Penalty Charge Notice.
If you fail to pay the fine or to appeal it, you will be sent a charge certificate which increases the PCN fine by 50% of its original value.
What is the procedure for appealing against a Small Heath PCN?
You can submit a formal representation to your Small Heath PCN by writing a letter addressed to the Birmingham City Council or by filling in the online formal representation form on the Birmingham City Council’s official website.
You need to brainstorm reasons for challenging a Small Heath 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 Birmingham City Council. You need to visit the Birmingham City Council website to submit a formal representation to your PCN. You have to open this webpage to enter your PCN number, Vehicle Registration Number and a Web Code on your PCN. You need to click on “Continue” 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 Birmingham 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 Small Heath 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 Birmingham City 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 Small Heath PCN challenge is by mail. You can write a formal representation to the Birmingham 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 Small Heath 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:
Birmingham City Council,
Highways 4/6,
PO Box 14438,
Birmingham B2 2JD
The Birmingham 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.
How much is the PCN fine for the 4 types of PCNs served in Birmingham City Council?
The PCN fine for a serious parking violation is set at £70 for Birmingham City Council. The PCN fine for a lower level parking contravention is set at £50 for Birmingham City Council. The PCN fines for bus lane entry and moving traffic contraventions in Birmingham City Council are also set at £70. The PCN fine for failing to pay the Birmingham City Clean Air Zone charges on time is £120.
You are required to pay your Birmingham City Council Clean Air Zone penalty for excessive vehicle emissions within 6 days of getting the penalty (by 12 noon on the 6th day after the incident).
There is a 50% discount which applies to these fine charges subject to certain conditions. If you pay a higher level traffic violation PCN (such as a bus lane PCN) within 14 days, you will just be paying £35, and if you pay a lower level traffic violation PCN within 21 days, you will have to pay £25. Also if you pay a moving traffic violation PCN within 14 days, you will be paying £35 only.Similarly your PCN fine for not paying Clean Air Zone charges in the council is reduced to £60 (if you pay within 14 days)
On the other hand if you forget to pay your PCN fine by the end of 28 days the charges will increase to £105 (for a higher level PCN) and £75 (for a lower level PCN) and to £180 for a Clean Air Zone charge penalty PCN.
The PCN fine charges for Birmingham City Council have been updated on 31st May 2022.
The bus lane enforcement conventions being followed by Birmingham City Council have reverted to guidelines in Section 78 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 (and the Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions Regulations 2022) from 31st May 2022.
How can I pay my Small Heath PCN fine?
It is best to make your Small Heath PCN fine payment online on the Birmingham City council website using Visa Card, Master Card, Direct Debit or Maestro Card. This method saves time and is also more precise.
You need to enter your PCN number and your vehicle registration number after opening this webpage to initiate the PCN fine payment online.To complete your fine submission online you also have to enter your payment card details in the next window after clicking “Search” You must remember to wait for 24 hours after your PCN is issued before attempting to pay it.
But if you want to pay (your Small Heath PCN) by post you need to attach a check or postal order payable to “Birmingham City Council” and send it to this address:
Birmingham City Council (Highways)
PO Box 77,
Birmingham B4 7WA
You should remember to write down your PCN number and Vehicle Registration Number on the back of your check or postal order.
Your Small Heath PCN fine is also payable by telephone. You need to dial the following number to connect to Birmingham City Council’s payments system : 0121 677 4964 . Next you need to enter your payment card details on the call as well as your card’s billing address. Your vehicle registration number and PCN number are also needed to complete your payment. This automated payments hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
You can also pay your Small Heath PCN by cash using Paypoint. To pay you will have to search for your nearest PayPoint location here. A letter containing your unique Paypoint barcode is required to access the payments system. Once you have located your nearest PayPoint outlet, you can visit the location to pay your PCN in cash.
Your nearest paypoint outlet might be the PayPoint location at Upper Deans St,
The Matrix,
Upper Deans Street,
Birmingham,
B5 4SG
Or PayPoint Slade Rd,
343 Slade Rd,
Birmingham,
B23 7JX
Or PayPoint Bicknell Croft,
34 Bicknell Croft,
Birmingham,
B14 5LY
Or Newtown Convenience Store,
11 Newton Shopping Centre,
Birmingham,
B19 2SS
Or Elite International Supermarket,
51 St. Georges Street,
Birmingham,
B19 3QU
You need to pay the fine within 28 days of getting the PCN and before 14 days if you want to avail the 50% discount on offer.
What will happen if I don’t pay my Small Heath 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 the Birmingham City Council. As per your driving license rules, you are bound to abide by Parking, Bus Lane, and Moving Traffic contravention codes in the Birmingham City Council.
If you neither pay your Small Heath 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 Birmingham 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 Small Heath PCN with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal if the Birmingham City Council dismisses my appeal?
Yes, you can dispute the decision of the Birmingham 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 Birmingham 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 Birmingham 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 Birmingham 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 Birmingham City Council.
Conclusion
This blog post addressed the question “How Can I Challenge A Small Heath PCN?” The contents of your Small Heath PCN challenge must either indicate that the traffic violation didn’t occur or that it happened due to your mitigating circumstances (where this is permissible). Your evidence has to directly correspond to the events mentioned in your formal representation, as it should serve to strengthen your case by proving how your point of view is correct.