How Can I Challenge A SouthEnd on Sea PCN?
This blog serves to answer the question “How Can I Challenge A SouthEnd on Sea PCN?” In order to successfully challenge a Southend-On-Sea PCN, you must collect and preserve evidence material such as video recordings of your daily road journeys, scanned copies of used parking permits and medical certificates to prove any mitigating circumstances. You need to spend at least 4 to 5 days on searching for the most relevant evidence to upload or attach with your PCN appeal and also on deciding the main reason for disputing the Southend-On-Sea PCN.
How Can I Challenge A SouthEnd on Sea PCN?
You can submit a formal representation to your Southend-on-Sea PCN on the council website. The quality of the text of your PCN appeal is what matters most, as well as the relevance and authenticity of evidence material uploaded with your PCN challenge. You can ensure that you have the right kind of evidence to support your case by preserving used pay and display tickets, paid PCN fines, any medical reports about your health conditions and video recordings of your road journeys in Southend-on-Sea City Council.
The video footage of your vehicle’s movement through areas with moving traffic and bus lane restrictions in place is the most important piece of evidence to collect beforehand. Other evidence documents can be easily recovered from your possession and uploaded onto your computer within a day or two. So unless you designate another person travelling regularly with you to film these video clips or remember to use the assistance of a passenger in your vehicle for creating these recordings, you will not have any proof to suggest that a traffic contravention never occurred.
You might recall the scene where your PCN was issued and feel sure of not breaching a no entry zone or be confident of not failing to comply with a (left or right ) direction turn traffic sign but you will still have to end up paying the PCN if you cannot provide any evidence to back your assertion.
It is essential that you formulate a strong appeals case before submitting your formal representation to the Southend-on-Sea City 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 Southend on Sea PCN?
You need to begin your PCN challenge by recalling the events which led to your traffic violation and by listing down any mitigating circumstances which affected your actions that day. Only events and mitigating circumstances which can be explained by using photo or video evidence or other documents such as medical certificates (already in your possession) should be considered as grounds for an appeal.
Some details might occur to you a day or two after the incident as the information sinks in to reveal minute details. It is advisable to allow yourself upto 4 days for carefully reviewing all the facts regarding your Parking, Bus Lane or moving traffic contravention. If you are sure that the relevant contravention code was never breached, you can simply attach photo or video evidence or an (authentic) written statement from a bystander present at the scene with your Southend on Sea PCN challenge.
You need to visit the Southend on Sea City Council website to submit a formal representation to your PCN. You can challenge your Southend on Sea PCN online by clicking here. On this webpage you need to enter your PCN number and vehicle registration number to login to your PCN account in the Southend-on-Sea City PCN database. You can use this account to submit a formal representation to your PCN.
It is essential to upload authentic evidence material with your PCN challenge to describe your mitigating circumstances to the Southend on Sea City Council and for explaining your point of view of the events which took place on 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 Southend-on-Sea 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 Southend-on-Sea PCN challenge is by mail. You can write down a formal representation on paper and attach evidence documents or photographs to the form by 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 by using a stapler or paper clip. Your PCN appeals form and all accompanying evidence documents (enclosed in an envelope) need to be sent to:
Southend-on-Sea City Council,
Civic Centre,
Victoria Avenue,
Southend-on-Sea,
Essex,
SS2 6ER
If Southend on Sea City Council accepts your PCN appeal, the PCN will be annulled and you will not be liable for paying any monetary penalty. In case the Southend on Sea Council sends you a “Notice of Rejection” by disapproving of your representation you will have to pay the amount mentioned on your PCN.
How Can I Pay a PCN in Southend-on-Sea City Council?
You can pay a PCN in the Southend-on-Sea City Council on the online payments page, by sending a check or postal order through the mail or by calling on the Southend-on-Sea City Council’s automated payments hotline.
If you choose to make your PCN fine payment online, you should visit the Southend-On-Sea City Council website. On this page you need to click on “Pay your Parking Fine Online” In the window which opens up you can enter your PCN number to initiate your PCN fine payment. In the next step of paying your PCN, you need to enter your payment card details to complete the online payment process
You might want to call on Southend-on-Sea City council’s automated payments hotline. For this you have to call on 0870 240 6650. On the call you will need to enter your PCN number and vehicle registration number. You can use the * key to enter the letters in your PCN number. This payment hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You should wait to receive a confirmation code for your PCN payment before ending the call.
You can also pay your Southend-on-Sea PCN by sending a check or postal order payable to “Southend-On-Sea City Council”. 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:
Southend-on-Sea City Council,
Civic Centre,
Victoria Avenue,
Southend-on-Sea,
Essex,
SS2 6ER
How much is the PCN fine for each of the 3 kinds of PCNs served in Southend-on-Sea City Council?
A Parking PCN in the Southend-on-Sea City 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 Southend on Sea 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
What will happen if I don’t pay my Southend-on-Sea 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 Southend-on-Sea City Council. As per your driving license rules, you are bound to abide by Parking, Bus Lane and Moving Traffic contravention codes in the Southend-on-Sea City Council.
If you neither pay your Southend-on-Sea 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 Southend-on-Sea 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 it 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 Southend-On-Sea PCN with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal if the Council dismisses my appeal?
Yes, you can dispute the decision of the Southend-on-Sea 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 Southend-on-Sea 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 Southend-on-Sea 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 SouthEnd on Sea 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 Southend-on-Sea City Council.
Conclusion
This blog post addressed the question “How Can I Challenge A SouthEnd on Sea PCN?” You should be aware of the implications of breaching a Parking, Bus Lane or Moving Traffic restriction enforced in Southend-On-Sea City Council. It is advisable to keep a map of the city council which states the contravention codes by location with you in your vehicle, or pasted on your dashboard, so that you have a mental picture of these restrictions enforced along your daily route. All this helps to eliminate any reasons relating to forgetfulness or to a lack of awareness of traffic restrictions in place, when you are challenging your PCN.