What to do if you did not receive the original Penalty Charge Notice (PCN)
Check the letter/notice you have received to understand what type it is.
If you have received a:
Notice to Owner or Enforcement Notice
You must either:
a) pay the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN)
or
b) make a Formal Representation to dispute (disagree with) the PCN
If you choose to make a Formal Representation, it is advised that you provide evidence and information about why you may not have received the previous PCN.
Charge Certificate
If the Charge Certificate is the first notification that has been received about a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), this may be due to previous letters or notices being lost in the post, or delivered to an old or incorrect address.
You must either:
a) pay the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN)
If you would like to come to an arrangement to pay the PCN, you need to submit a PCN enquiry
or
b) dispute the PCN
If you believe the PCN was issued incorrectly and want to dispute the PCN:
- Wait until you receive an Order for Recovery letter.
- Make a Statutory Declaration/Witness Statement and select ''I did not receive the Notice to Owner / Penalty Charge Notice."
- If successful, this may result in a revoking order being issued. This means the original PCN will then be reissued.
- An Informal Challenge or Formal Representation can then be submitted.
Order for Recovery
This means the debt is registered at the Traffic Enforcement Centre (County Court).
If the Order for Recovery is the first notification that has been received about a Penalty Charge Notice, you may be able to challenge the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) by making a 'Statutory Declaration' or 'In time Witness Statement', depending on the type of PCN you were issued. Select 'I did not receive the Notice to Owner / Penalty Charge Notice’.
If the Statutory Declaration or In Time Witness Statement’ is accepted, the PCN or Enforcement Notice will be reissued, and you can then either pay or choose to dispute the PCN.
If you do nothing after 21 days, the debt may be passed to an enforcement agency (bailiff).
Find more information: Order of Recovery - What you can do
Letter from an enforcement agency (bailiff)
You must contact the enforcement agency directly.
Enforcement agencies act on behalf of the council to recover debt and therefore at this stage the Council cannot discuss the case or take payment.
Find more information: Letter from an enforcement agency - What you can do
