PENALTY CHARGE NOTICES (PCNs)
Where a PCN is served for a contravention in an off-street car park the enforcement authority is Cambridge City Council. In all other cases the enforcement authority is Cambridgeshire County Council, with Cambridge City Council acting as it’s agents.
If a PCN is served you may ask the Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO) for an explanation. If you feel a ticket has been wrongly served, CEOs will record your comments in their pocket books. A CEO has no authority to cancel or ‘tear up’ a PCN once it has been printed/served.
Other than independent parking adjudicators, only designated specialist parking enforcement services team members have the authority to investigate and uphold or cancel a PCN.
The parking enforcement services team investigate, consider and answer any challenges made about a PCN, once it has been served. They are highly trained and operate within well defined guidelines; they consider each challenge on it’s own merits and are able to exercise discretionary powers in certain circumstances.
The cost of a PCN is either £50 or £70 in Cambridge, depending on whether the parking contravention attracts a lower or higher penalty charge. Payments made no later than the last day of the period of 14 days beginning with the date on which the PCN is served will have a 50% discount applied i.e. £25/35. These charges are agreed by the Secretary of State for Transport, not set arbitrarily by Cambridgeshire County Council or Cambridge City Council.
If you would like to see a list of the various low and high contravention codes or if you feel that the contravention code description is perhaps unclear, please click here for a list of contravention codes with explanations for the more obscure.
IMPORTANT
Do not ignore your PCN or any associated correspondence.
Do challenge your PCN if you feel it has been wrongly served. (This link shows how many PCNs are issued and how many we cancel after a challenge is received)
Do tell us the number of the PCN, the Vehicle Registration Number (VRN), your full postal address, your E-mail address (where applicable) and a daytime contact telephone number whenever you contact us.
HOW TO PAY A PCN.
Payments made no later than the last day of the period of 14 days beginning with the date on which the PCN is served will have a 50% discount applied i.e. £25/35.
You can pay a PCN by the following methods (please have your PCN, vehicle, and payment card details available) :-
On our website ANYTIME using a debit or credit card, usually
1 day after the PCN has been served.
at :- Parking
Charge Notice payments.
On the phone :- ANYTIME with touchtone facilities, using a debit or credit card, usually 1 day after the PCN has been served; call our automated service on 01223 457779
OR phone 01223 458500, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm (excluding public holidays).
In person ** by cash, credit/debit card, cheque or postal order payable to Cambridge City Council at Cambridge City Council, Cashier’s Office, Mandela House, 4, Regent Street, Cambridge. CB2 1 BV. (Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, excluding public holidays).
By post ** using cheque or postal order payable to Cambridge City Council (please do NOT send cash) to :- Parking Enforcement Services, Cambridge City Council, PO Box 135, Cambridge. CB1 2WU.
(** Please include your PCN number and your address on the reverse of cheques/postal orders).
If you believe that the PCN was wrongly served and should not be paid, you should challenge it.
If we receive a written or e-mailed challenge no later than the last day of the period of 14 days beginning with the date on which the PCN is served we will put your case on hold. The Parking Enforcement Services Team will consider all matters raised by a challenge which is received before a Notice to Owner (see below) is issued; details of the Enforcement Authority’s policy and approach to challenges can be found at www.cambridge.gov.uk/parking.
If you challenge the PCN within 14 days and the challenge is rejected, the Parking Enforcement Services Team will generally extend the period within which the reduced payment may be paid.
At this stage these are known as informal challenges. There are several ways to informally challenge a PCN.
You can use the online Penalty Charge Notice Enquiry Form (Please Note - If you wish to send an attachment as part of your challenge (e.g. a scanned copy of an authorised delivery invoice or job sheet, scan of a resident/visitor permit / pay & display ticket or disabled/blue badge) please use our e-mail address for your representation LAPE@cambridge.gov.uk
You can call 01223 458500 to discuss the PCN informally
You can write to us at Parking Enforcement Services, PO Box 121, Cambridge. CB1 2WW.
You can send a Fax to :- 01223 458509
The parking enforcement services team investigate, consider and answer any challenges made about a PCN, once it has been served. They are highly trained and operate within well-defined guidelines; they consider each challenge on it’s own merits and are able to exercise discretionary powers in certain circumstances. They may cancel a PCN where they consider it was wrongly served or where they are satisfied that an exempt activity was taking place that wasn't observed by the CEO, such as loading/unloading-where permitted.
They also exercise discretion and may cancel a PCN where there are acceptable mitigating circumstances such as a genuine medical emergency or an unforeseen and unavoidable vehicle breakdown.
IF THE PENALTY CHARGE IS NOT PAID OR CHALLENGED
If the penalty charge is not successfully challenged or paid on or before the end of the 28 day period as specified on the front of the PCN, the Enforcement Authority may serve a Notice to Owner (NtO) on the person who appears to them to be the owner of the vehicle requiring payment of the penalty charge. The owner can then make representations to the Enforcement Authority and may appeal to an independent adjudicator (The Traffic Penalty Tribunal) if those representations are rejected. If a NtO is served notwithstanding those initial challenges to the PCN, further representation against the PCN must be made in the form and manner and at the time specified in the NtO.
NOTICE to OWNER RETURNED BEYOND PERMITTED PERIOD OF 28 DAYS FROM DATE OF SERVICE OF NOTICE
Representations should be made not later than the last day of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which the NtO is served and any representations which are made outside that period may be disregarded. If you submit your representations late, you should explain why. We will not generally accept representations made beyond this time period; rare exceptions could include those instances where we are satisfied that circumstances beyond the recipients control may have prevented them from knowing earlier about the existence of the Notice to Owner/and or being able to respond within the permitted time period.
In any event we may disregard any notice received 84 days or more from the date of service of the notice, regardless of the stated circumstances.
The statutory or specified grounds on which representations may be made are set out below together with an indication of the information which you should supply in support of your representations. It is important to provide all relevant information. You should tick the relevant boxes and write your reasons in the boxes provided. The Notice will be cancelled if one or more of the specified grounds is accepted. The Notice may be cancelled for other compelling reasons even if none of the specified grounds apply. If the Notice is cancelled any sums already paid will be refunded.
If your representations are received in time or are received late but are taken into account, the Parking Enforcement Services Team will let you know its decision in writing not later than the last day of the period of 56 days beginning with the date on which your representation was served on it. If it fails to do so, the Notice will be cancelled and any sums already paid will be refunded. If your representations are rejected, you have the right to appeal against that decision to an independent Adjudicator. An appeal form will be sent with the letter rejecting your representations. The form will explain how and when to appeal to the adjudicator.
The Parking Enforcement Services policies about enforcement, challenges and appeals, late representations and/or representations not covered by the statutory grounds can be found on www.cambridge.gov.uk/parking.
Further information about Civil Parking Enforcement (including PCNs and NtOs) is also available online at www.patrol-uk.info
THE SPECIFIED GROUNDS
The alleged contravention did not occur.
I was never the owner of the vehicle in question/ or
I had ceased to be its owner before the date on which the alleged contravention occurred/ or
I became its owner after the date on which the alleged contravention occurred.
The vehicle had been permitted to remain at rest in the place in question by a person who was in control of the vehicle without the consent of the owner.
We are a vehicle-hire firm and the vehicle was on hire under a hiring agreement and the hirer had signed a statement acknowledging liability for any PCN issued during the hiring period.
The penalty charge exceeded the amount applicable in the circumstances of the case.
There has been a procedural impropriety by the enforcement authority.
The Order which is alleged to have been contravened in relation to the vehicle concerned is invalid.
This Notice should not have been served because the penalty charge had already been paid:
(i) in full; or
(ii) at the discounted rate and within the time specified in paragraph 1(h) of the Schedule to the Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007. .
OTHER GROUNDS
If there are any other reasons why you consider the Enforcement Authority should cancel the penalty charge notice and refund any sum already paid please tick this box and set out those reasons in full.
NOTICE to OWNER COMPLETED AND RETURNED WHERE “OTHER GROUNDS” FOR REPRESENTATION BOX IS TICKED AND COMPLETED.
Whilst there are no formal stipulated or specifically prescribed laid down grounds for completing this box we will consider any additional relevant information provided in the following circumstances :-
Where it can be shown to our satisfaction that our enforcement action may have been discriminatory/not even-handed.
Where there are genuine, proven and compelling medical circumstances that can be demonstrated to have contributed to the parking contravention occurring in the first instance or perhaps going unnoticed.
Where some other wholly unforeseen event/situation of a necessary and/or emergency nature can be demonstrated to have contributed to the parking contravention occurring in the first instance or perhaps going unnoticed.
In any event we will require acceptable documentary evidence to support the “other grounds.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T PAY THE PCN ?
If the penalty charge is not successfully challenged or paid on or before the end of the 28 day period as specified on the NtO, the enforcement authority may increase the original penalty charge by 50% and take steps to enforce payment. All right to appeal is normally lost and a Charge Certificate will be sent.
14 days after this the charge will be registered as a debt with the Traffic Enforcement Centre County Court at an additional cost of £5.00 and documents confirming this will be sent.
After a further 21 days without payment a warrant may be issued to Certificated Bailiffs for the recovery of the whole amount, in addition to their own fees which may be significant.
WHO DO I TALK TO ABOUT A BAILIFF'S VISIT OR PAYMENT?
Once the debt has been passed to Bailiffs, the enforcement authority (Cambridge City Council) do not usually enter into further correspondence. All communications should normally be addressed to the Bailiff company or, in the case of serious complaints or statements of truth, the County Court.