How Can I Challenge A Worcester City PCN?
This blog serves to answer the question “How Can I Challenge A Worcester City PCN?” You need to memorise all the moving traffic contravention codes by location in your local council for avoiding a PCN that cannot be challenged. Evidence relating to your PCN challenge can best be collected by recording video clips of your vehicle’s daily driving actions as you will need to retrieve one of these moments to prove your traffic violation never happened.
How Can I Challenge A Worcester City PCN?
You can challenge a Worcester City PCN by filling in the online formal representation form on the Worcester City Council website or by writing a formal representation to the Worcester City Council on the reverse of your “Notice to Owner” document.
You need to look at the contravention code on your Penalty Charge Notice to decide on the approach to contest the charge. If you have been served a moving traffic PCN for failing to turn your vehicle in the “left” direction (code 32) you can either relate your mitigating circumstances or mention that the traffic violation never happened.
You can have genuine mitigating circumstances such as a medical condition which prevented you from driving your vehicle correctly and had been diagnosed by your General Practitioner before the incident. These symptoms need to be preferably proven by using a video clip of you driving at the place where you failed to turn left, as with the clip you can demonstrate the lack of limb function, dizziness or high blood pressure that resulted in your breach of the contravention.
As your arms had failed to steer the vehicle leftwards, it constitutes an error which can be explained by muscular failure or a nervous system breakdown and you knew that the left turn sign was placed there so you had attempted to move your vehicle at the correct angle. You would have turned the tyres of your vehicle slightly leftward but not found the exact lane (which can be explained through the video clip)
The other approach to challenging this moving traffic PCN with the contravention code 32 is to mention that the traffic violation didn’t happen and you did turn left at the road sign, for which you must attach an authentic video clip which shows your vehicle moving in the correct direction. The clip needs to be authentic in the sense that the date and time must be exactly the same as the CCTV evidence provided by your council (or the time on your PCN).
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. 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.
What is the procedure for appealing against a Worcester City PCN?
You can submit a formal representation to your Worcester City PCN by writing a letter addressed to the Worcester City Council or by filling in the online formal representation form on the Worcester City Council’s official website.
You need to brainstorm reasons for challenging a Worcester City 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 Worcester City Council. You need to visit the Worcester City Council 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 Penalty Charge Notice. 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 Worcester 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 Worcester 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 Worcester 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 Worcester City 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 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 Worcester City PCN challenge is by mail. You can write a formal representation to the Worcester 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 Worcester City 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 & Enforcement Services,
Worcester City Council,
The Guildhall,
High Street,
Worcester,
WR1 2EY
The Worcester 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 can I pay my Worcester City PCN?
You can pay your Worcester City PCN online (on the Worcester City Council website) by entering your PCN number, vehicle registration number, the date of your traffic violation and payment card details (along with a valid email address). Once you have filled in all the required fields on the page, you can click “Next”.
PCN fine payments can also be made through the Worcester City Council’s automated payments hotline. For this, you need to call on : 0330 088 0680. On the call, you need to enter your payment card details along with the billing address for the card. You will also be required to provide your PCN number and vehicle registration number to complete the payment.
You can also pay your Worcester City 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.
How much is the PCN fine for each of the 3 kinds of PCNs served in Worcester City Council?
A Parking PCN in Worcester 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 Worcester 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 Worcester City 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 Worcester City Council. As per your driving license rules, you are bound to abide by Parking, Bus Lane, and Moving Traffic contravention codes in Worcester City Council.
If you neither pay your Worcester City 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 Worcester 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 Worcester City PCN with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal if the Worcester City Council dismisses my appeal?
Yes, you can dispute the decision of the Worcester 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 Worcester 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 Worcester 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 Worcester 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 Worcester City Council.
Conclusion
This blog post addressed the question “How Can I Challenge A Worcester City PCN?” You can challenge your Worcester City PCN by writing to the council’s parking services address or by filling in the online form on the Worcester City Council website. But it is more important to have your evidence material ready and properly matched with your appeal than to decide which kind of form you will use to submit your challenge, as this evidence forms the most important part of the formal representation.