Should you be the unfortunate recipient of a parking ticket, (PCN or Penalty Charge Notice) issued by a Civil Enforcement Officer, (CEO) more commonly known as a parking warden, it is most important that you act speedily.
You can skip the next part, which is rather boring and is provided only as background.
The Penalty Charge Notice, (PCN) any Notice to Owner (NtO) or Charge Certificate (CC) subsequently issued are bi-lingual and have been prepared by the Wales Penalty Processing Partnership (WPPP) in compliance with the Code of Practice for Civil Parking and Traffic Enforcement (CPTE) and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT).
You can skip the next part, which is rather boring and is provided only as background.
The Penalty Charge Notice, (PCN) any Notice to Owner (NtO) or Charge Certificate (CC) subsequently issued are bi-lingual and have been prepared by the Wales Penalty Processing Partnership (WPPP) in compliance with the Code of Practice for Civil Parking and Traffic Enforcement (CPTE) and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT).
First and foremost, the standard format PCN is no longer issued by the police, but only by a properly uniformed CEO. The offence committed, if any, is now a civil offence and not a criminal offence and will be treated accordingly.
The PCN will list the penalty charge as being either £50 or £70 dependent upon the offence claimed. Full instructions, in both English and Welsh will be detailed on the notice, but these, taken from Powys County Council Adoption of Civil Parking Enforcement report (B244-2010) are briefly summarised below.
The charge level will be halved to either £25 or £35 if paid within 14 days. If an ‘informal appeal or challenge’ is lodged, and subsequently rejected, the ‘Council will re-offer the discount period of 14 days.’
If the penalty is not paid before the end of the 14 day period, either after its original issue, or the rejection of an appeal, a Notice to Owner (NtO) will be issued and the ‘penalty will be at the original charge level.’
If the penalty remains unpaid and the Council issue a subsequent Charge Certificate, (CC) the original penalty will be increased by half to either £75 or £105.
Appeals - Formal Appeals & Informal Appeals
All appeals are handled by ‘enforcement authority staff’. Formal appeals will ‘only be received and dealt with by post or e-mail.’ The process for making an informal appeal is not defined but ‘The Wales Penalty Processing Partnership will respond in writing to informal representations within agreed timescales. The amount payable will be frozen until a response has been sent, at which time the original discount and the timeline for payment of the PCN will be reset.’
The PCN will list the penalty charge as being either £50 or £70 dependent upon the offence claimed. Full instructions, in both English and Welsh will be detailed on the notice, but these, taken from Powys County Council Adoption of Civil Parking Enforcement report (B244-2010) are briefly summarised below.
The charge level will be halved to either £25 or £35 if paid within 14 days. If an ‘informal appeal or challenge’ is lodged, and subsequently rejected, the ‘Council will re-offer the discount period of 14 days.’
If the penalty is not paid before the end of the 14 day period, either after its original issue, or the rejection of an appeal, a Notice to Owner (NtO) will be issued and the ‘penalty will be at the original charge level.’
If the penalty remains unpaid and the Council issue a subsequent Charge Certificate, (CC) the original penalty will be increased by half to either £75 or £105.
Appeals - Formal Appeals & Informal Appeals
All appeals are handled by ‘enforcement authority staff’. Formal appeals will ‘only be received and dealt with by post or e-mail.’ The process for making an informal appeal is not defined but ‘The Wales Penalty Processing Partnership will respond in writing to informal representations within agreed timescales. The amount payable will be frozen until a response has been sent, at which time the original discount and the timeline for payment of the PCN will be reset.’
(I would surmise that if you protest to the parking warden (CEO) about the issue of the ticket and use the words that you "appeal" against the issue of the ticket (PCN) then that should suffice as an 'informal appeal' and your penalty frozen as above. - I am not a lawyer, but merely offering a layman's opinion!)
Adjudication
Civil enforcement will be undertaken by the Council using the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. (TPT) service. ‘Subject to agreement, the Council will work with the TPT to have hearings take place whenever requested by an appellant. Access to an adjudicator will be arranged’ and a hearing held at ‘an appropriate local venue.’
It is worth noting that two Powys Councillors, Cllr Geraint Hopkins, Portfolio Holder for Highways, Local & Environmental Services and largely responsible for introducing Civil Parking Enforcement to Powys, and Cllr Ken Harris, Portfolio Holder for Waste & Sustainability have been nominated as TraCC Board members to be representatives to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. (Don’t even ask what TraCC stands for!)
SUMMARY
If you receive a PCN you must either pay it within 14 days or appeal against it, either formally or informally. Whatever the grounds of your appeal, your 14 days grace before the full sum become payable is extended until your appeal is either accepted or rejected.
If your appeal is rejected you are given a further 14 days to pay after which the full sum becomes payable. If you decide to pay, do so speedily before a Charge Certificate is issued and the penalty increased by half.
I would never suggest it, but wouldn’t it be interesting if every recipient of a PCN appealed against it? The whole system would probably come to a grinding halt!
There are numerous websites offering free and impartial advice as to how to appeal a PCN.
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