Should You Pay or Appeal a Barking and Dagenham PCN?
This blog serves to answer the question “Should you pay or appeal a Barking and Dagenham PCN?” The blog explains why you should prefer to pay your PCN fine instead of getting involved in the case of an appeal. This blog also explains how to best deal with a parking zone violation in Barking and Dagenham due to which your vehicle gets towed away to a vehicle pound.
Should You Pay or Appeal a Barking and Dagenham PCN?
A Barking and Dagenham Council PCN cannot be appealed against after 14 days. This incentive to pay a PCN fine as well as the 56 day (on average) waiting period for PCN appeals made to the Council makes it very risky to attempt to challenge a Penalty Charge Notice. CCTV Bus Lane and moving traffic PCNs have no statutory time limit requirement for the local authority (under the Traffic Management Act 2004) to respond to your challenge.
You may not be able to put together a successful case within 14 days or have the opportunity to take out the time to respond to the PCN before its fine increases (to £130 or £80) It is better not to take the chance with your challenge to the PCN and end up feeling hopeless beyond the 14th day if you lose the PCN appeal. You will just have to pay £65 (or £40) within the first 14 days.
You should generally remember to pay the PCN fine as soon as you are served a PCN and not waste your time and effort in putting together a PCN appeal.
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.
How Can I Challenge a Barking and Dagenham PCN?
The challenge to your PCN has to be made within 14 days in Barking and Dagenham Council.
You can challenge a Barking and Dagenham PCN by post or by using the council’s online service.
The first stage of challenging a Barking and Dagenham PCN is an informal appeal. The informal challenge only applies to Parking PCN served by a CEO or to a CCTV Bus Lane PCN. You can choose to make this informal appeal online or by post. You have to mention your PCN Number, Vehicle Registration Number and the reasons for your appeal in the letter.
After the informal appeal the council will send you a “Notice to Owner” and you will be given 14 days to make a formal appeal (these are the 14 days from getting the PCN).
For a CCTV Parking PCN, CCTV Bus Lane PCN or moving traffic PCN you will make a formal representation, after receiving your Enforcement Notice or Notice to Owner (NTO).
The formal representation can be made online by clicking here (if your PCN number begins with BZ) or here (if your PCN Number begins with BU). On this webpage you need to enter your PCN number and Vehicle Registration number to start your PCN challenge. Evidence documents can be uploaded online.
If you are appealing your PCN by post, you need to mention your PCN number and Vehicle Registration number on your letter. It should contain a logical explanation of the facts of your case and an acceptable rebuttal of the charges put forward by the Barking and Dagenham Council. Your PCN challenge needs to be sent to the following address
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham,
Parking Services,
PO Box 500,
Barking,
IG11 7LU
You must remember not to attempt to pay your PCN fine if you have chosen to appeal it. Paying the PCN will forfeit your chance for an appeal.
How much is the PCN fine for a PCN served in Barking and Dagenham Council?
The Penalty Charge Notice fine for a Barking and Dagenham Parking PCN is set at £130 for a higher level PCN and at £80 for a lower level PCN. A 50% discount applies to early payment so If you pay your higher level parking PCN within 14 days, you just have to pay £65. Similarly if you pay your lower level parking PCN within 21 days, you just have to pay £40.
If you pay a Bus Lane PCN within 28 days, you will be charged £130 and if you pay it within 21 days, you just have to pay £65.The PCN fine for a moving traffic PCN in Barking and Dagenham Council is £130. There is a 50% discount for paying it within 14 days, which reduces the fine to £65.
How Can I Pay My Barking and Dagenham PCN?
You can only pay your Barking and Dagenham PCN fine online. To make the payment you have to open the council webpage by clicking here You will be required to enter your PCN number, Vehicle Registration Number and payment card details.
You must pay your PCN fine within 28 days.
What Can I Do If My Vehicle Gets Towed Away?
You will have to visit your nearest vehicle pound in person to unclamp your vehicle in case it gets towed away by the (TRACE) vehicle towing company. Barking and Dagenham Council does not handle vehicle removals itself so you will need to contact Trace towed vehicle tracing service.
You can get in touch with TRACE through their customer services hotline on this number : 0300 077 0100. Another way to check whether your vehicle has been towed away is to text TRACE followed by your vehicle registration number to 66663.
You need to visit the Redcorn Ltd Car pound along with 2 ID documents such as your birth certificate and driver’s licence. You must also have in your possession your vehicle’s insurance or MOT certificate as well as your V5C vehicle registration certificate. The Parking PCN issued for the traffic contravention will also be needed.
The amount of money you will require to unclamp your vehicle includes a £200 release fee and storage charges of 21 per day. So for example if your vehicle was towed away by a parking company 3 days ago, you will need (£21×3) + £200 = £263 to get it released from the vehicle pound.
This figure does not include the Parking PCN fine payment to be made to the Council. So you should have a total of around £300-£350 (available balance) in your payment card to get your vehicle freed from the Redcorn Ltd car pound. Your credit or debit card will be charged at the vehicle pound. You may choose to pay your PCN before visiting the pound.
The Redcorn Ltd vehicle pound used by Barking and Dagenham Council to store impounded vehicles is located at this address:
Redcorn Ltd,
8 Eley Road,
Edmonton,
Enfield,
N18 3BD
The Redcorn Ltd vehicle pound’s opening hours are 8 am to 5 pm from Monday to Friday.
You can also make your vehicle release payment through telephone if you are unable to visit the pound soon enough. Call Redcorn vehicle pound on 020 8803 0834 and mention your Vehicle Registration number as well as the Parking PCN number connected with the vehicle impounding. The credit/debit card payment details can also be provided by telephone.
Your vehicle may have been towed away because it was parked in a position blocking traffic. Other reasons for the vehicle being impounded could be a request from the police or any other parking contravention.
You must remember to recover your vehicle from the Redcorn vehicle pound within 7 days. If you leave it there for more than 14 days the vehicle may be recycled or sold to another buyer.
Which kind of parking and traffic PCNs are issued by Barking and Dagenham Council?
Parking and moving traffic PCNs are issued in Barking and Dagenham Council for the following offences:
- Parking your vehicle on the pavement.
- Your vehicle was parked adjacent to another vehicle correctly parked in a parking space. So the vehicle will have to be parked more than 50 cm from the edge of the kerb line of the parking zone and be liable for a parking PCN.
- Your vehicle was parked in front of a school’s entrance.
- Your vehicle made a banned turn.
- You were driving your vehicle in a pedestrian zone.
- You had disregarded directional signs for turns and made an incorrect turn.
Which traffic rules apply to public holidays?
On bank holidays parking permits are not needed for parking in business and residential parking zones. Here is a list of the bank holidays for Barking and Dagenham Council:
- 1st January New Years Day
- 15th April 2022 Good Friday
- 17th April 2022 Easter Sunday
- 18th April 2022 Easter Monday
- 2nd May 2022 Early May Bank Holiday
- 2nd June 2022 Spring Bank Holiday
- 3rd June 2022 Platinum Jubilee bank holiday
- 29th August 2022 Summer Bank Holiday
- 25th December Christmas Day
- 26th December Boxing Day
Which are the “Pay by Phone“ parking zones in Barking and Dagenham Council?
The following Pay by Phone parking zones exist in Barking and Dagenham Council:
- Abbey Road parking zone (location number : 805635)
- Barnmead Road (location number : 805648)
- Becontree Avenue, Fiddlers Shopping Area (location number : 805660)
- Beverly Road (Opposite 144-106) Location Number : 805649
- Broad Street (Location Number: 805658)
- Cartwright Road (Location Number : 805735)
- Chaplin Road (Location Number : 805736)
- Clockhouse Avenue (next to town hall) Location Number : 805636
- Dagenham Avenue (Location Number :805667)
- Faircross Parade (Location Number : 805637)
- Gale Street (A parking zone located outside Jo Richardson’s Street) : 805661)
- George Street (Location Number : 805635)
- Goresbrook Road (Location Number : 805731)
- Goresbrook Road ( A parking zone opposite John’s Church and Community Centre) Location Number :805666
- Green Lane Area (Location Number : 805662
- Halbutt Street ( a parking zone outside 60) Location Number : 805651
- Halbutt Street (a parking zone outside 145 and another one outside 147) Location Number: 805650
- Harrow Road (Location Number : 805638)
- Hatfield Road (Location Number: 805732)
- High Road, Chadwell Heath (Location Number :805646 )
- Levet Road and Hurstbourne Gardens (Location Number : 805733)
- London Road Barking (Location Number: 805635)
- London Bridge Road (outside Barking Park entrance) Location Number : 805639
- Morden Road 747 (Location Number : 805647)
- Osborne Square (Location Number : 805664)
- Oxlow Lane (A parking bay located opposite Catholic Church of the Holy Family) Location Number : 805652
- Park Avenue, Barking (Location Number : 805640)
- Parsloes Avenue (opposite 260-242 and another parking zone opposite 10) Location Number 805653
- Rippleside Industrial Estate (Location Number : 805643)
- Rippleside Cemetary area (Location Number : 805641)
- Ripple Road, Town centre (Location Number :805636)
- Ripple Road, by Westbury arms (Location Number : 805642)
- Royal Parade, Church Elm Lane (Location Number : 805665)
- St. Pauls Road
- Urswick Road
- Vincent Road
- Wakering Road
What happens if I don’t pay my Barking and Dagenham PCN within 28 days?
If you don’t pay your Barking and Dagenham PCN within 28 days, you will be issued a charge certificate by Transport for London. The charge certificate will increase your PCN fine amount to £195. If this charge certificate is not paid within 14 days, you will receive a “Notice of Debt Registration” and a witness certificate from Transport for London.
The unpaid charge certificate amount will be considered as debt by the Traffic Enforcement Centre at the Northampton County Court. The “Notice of Debt Registration” enforces that the charge certificate must be paid within the next 21 days. After 21 days, the Northampton County Court will use its legal powers to recover the debt from your possession.
Can I dispute a Barking and Dagenham PCN with the London Tribunals if the council dismisses my appeal?
Yes, you can dispute a Barking and Dagenham PCN with the Traffic Adjudicators at London Tribunals within 28 days of getting your “Notice of Rejection” from the council. You have to fill in the form provided to you with the Notice of Rejection and mail it to this postal address:
London Tribunals,
PO Box 10598,
Nottingham,
NG6 6DR
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 from your “Notice of Rejection of Representations” letter.
You can attach copies of evidence documents online to back up your appeal against the decision of the Barking and Dagenham Council. Such evidence may also include a signed and dated written statement describing what happened on the scene according to the viewpoint of a bystander (witness).
London Tribunals will notify both you and Barking and Dagenham Council of the hearing date. If the council contests your appeal, it will provide you with a copy of its application along with the evidence sent by it to the Traffic Adjudicators at London Tribunals. In case the independent parking and traffic adjudicator decides the case in your favour, Barking and Dagenham Council will promptly withdraw the PCN.
If the PCN is cancelled at this stage, you will have to pay nothing, if the London Tribunals decide the case in the Council’s favour, you will be given another 28 days to pay the PCN fine.
Conclusion
This blog post addressed the question “Should You Pay Or Appeal A Barking and Dagenham PCN?” Barking and Dagenham Council only allows you to challenge a PCN by the 14th day and the PCN charge can only be paid online as the Council’s contact centre is closed because of coronavirus restrictions. Given these specific circumstances of appealing and paying a PCN in the council your choices are just limited to the option of paying your fine within 14 days.