Please refer to our Explanation of Terms page if you are not familiar with any of the terms below.
1. Someone else was driving, do I have to pay?
2. I sold my vehicle, do I have to pay?
3. My vehicle was stolen, do I have to pay?
4. I have received an Order for Recovery, what do I do?
5. Will the penalty increase if I lose my appeal?
6. Does it cost me anything to appeal?
7. I have received a Notice to Owner but no Penalty Charge Notice
8. What evidence should I send to the Adjudicator?
9. My evidence is not ready to be sent to the Adjudicator
10. Can I claim expenses if I win my appeal?
11. Will I have to pay the local authority's costs if I lose my appeal?
12. I don't agree with the Adjudicator's decision, what can I do?
13. How do I make a complaint about an Adjudicator?
14. I have chosen to receive a postal decision, when can I expect this to be made?
Yes, in most cases the owner is usually liable whoever was driving. However, there are exceptions.
Follow this link for information on Owner Liability.
The Enforcement Authority will normally issue the Notice to Owner to the person registered as the keeper with the DVLA, who is presumed to be the owner.
You may have received the Notice to Owner or Penalty Charge Notice because the sale of the vehicle has not been notified to the DVLA.
You should respond in writing to the authority explaining the sale of the vehicle, giving the name and address of the buyer, if you know it, and supply clear copies of any documents which support this, e.g. sale note.
If you have not already done so, you should also contact the DVLA about the change in ownership. Equally, if you bought the vehicle AFTER the date of the contravention you should take similar steps.
If your vehicle has been stolen and you have reported it to the police, you should have been given a crime reference number. You should write to the authority advising them of this number and explain that the vehicle has been stolen.
You should respond to each letter concerning a Penalty Charge Notice individually – do not assume that the authority knows that your car has been stolen. There are 34 Enforcement Authorities in London all of which can issue Penalty Charge Notices.
An ‘Order for Recovery’ is sent to a vehicle’s owner at a late stage in the enforcement process.
If the circumstances match any of the three grounds on which you can make a Witness Statement you may choose to do so. You should follow the instructions given on this form.
For more information, see ’Witness Statement’ in 'Understanding the Enforcement Process'
No. If you lose your appeal you will be given another 28 days from the date of the decision to pay the penalty before any further increase. The penalty due will normally be the full, not the reduced, penalty unless the Adjudicator directs otherwise.
No.
Do not ignore the notice. If you wish to contest the penalty, you must make representations to the Enforcement Authority within the 28 days allowed.
The Enforcement Authority will then send you a notice telling you whether they accept your representations. Remember that, where the authority has issued a Penalty Charge Notice through the post rather than at the scene, there is no notice to owner.
Click here for a link to the Enforcement Authorities and their parking web pages.
You should send any evidence in your possession that may support your case to the Adjudicator.
Please remember that the Adjudicator does not hold any information on your Penalty Charge Notice and will decide your appeal based on the evidence provided by both yourself and the Enforcement Authority.
The Adjudicator will not obtain evidence or contact witnesses on your behalf. For example, if you need information from the DVLA or police, you must contact them.
Examples of evidence you may wish to send to the Adjudicator are:
Remember to send clear copies and retain original documents.
If you wish to submit in evidence photographs in electronic format or moving images, please do so on CD, DVD or videotape (not Super VHS). Please note that we will retain it as we require a complete record of the evidence.
In view of the significant security issues associated with their use, we cannot accept evidence on a USB flash drive.
Please also note that, if you present evidence at a hearing that we cannot retain, such as on a mobile telephone, laptop or camcorder, the Adjudicator may need to adjourn the hearing for you to provide the evidence in a suitable form.
If you are intending to fax photographs or images to the tribunal the quality on receipt is likely to be poor. Please send clear copies to us by post. If you are attending a personal hearing, please bring the originals with you.
The Enforcement Authority will send PATAS all the evidence it has on the Penalty Charge Notice and provide you with a copy.
Whether you choose a postal or a personal hearing, the Enforcement Authority must send you a copy of their evidence at least three clear days before the scheduled date.
If you are concerned that any evidence may not fully explain your case, you are entitled to request a personal hearing.
For further information, click here
Send in the Notice of Appeal as soon as you can and explain that your evidence will follow. Remember there is a strict time limit to return your completed form. When you receive a date for your hearing you will be told when you should send your evidence.
If the date approaches and you still do not have all your evidence, you can contact PATAS and ask for the appeal to be rescheduled to allow you more time to gather it. Your request will be considered by the Adjudicator.
You can bring evidence to a personal hearing, but the Adjudicator will decide how to deal with it.
Please remember that, for security reasons, we cannot accept evidence on a USB flash drive and any evidence you produce at a personal hearing should be in a form which will allow us to retain it.
The Adjudicator’s powers to award costs are limited by regulations and can only be considered where the authority’s behaviour is found by the Adjudicator to have been ‘frivolous, vexatious or wholly unreasonable’.
If the Adjudicator awards costs these will only relate to reasonable costs and expenses. There is no power to award compensation in respect of, for example, stress or inconvenience.
The regulation which covers the award of costs is Regulation 13 in the schedule to The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) Representations and Appeals Regulations 2007. These regulations can be found by clicking here.
The Adjudicator’s powers to award costs against you are limited by the same regulations as apply in question 10.
The Enforcement Authority would have to apply to the Adjudicator and he or she would have to decide whether you acted frivolously, vexatiously or wholly unreasonably in appealing against the Penalty Charge Notice.
There is no right of appeal from the Adjudicator’s decision.
The Adjudicator's decision can be contested by the following procedures:
A. Review under Regulation 12 in the Schedule to The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) Representations and Appeals Regulations 2007.
A review may only be granted in the following limited cases:
Please note that a review will only be granted if an Adjudicator is satisfied that one or more of these applies. A review is NOT simply an opportunity for you to appeal again. You cannot ask for a review just because you disagree with the Adjudicator's decision.
A review can only be granted if an Adjudicator is satisfied that one or more of the cases above applies.
If you wish to apply for review, you should write to the Head of the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service at the address given on your decision letter within 14 days of the decision being sent to you or handed to you at the hearing centre.
You must:
Unless you attend a personal hearing, the decision will be posted to you.
B. Judicial Review
If an Adjudicator interprets the law incorrectly the decision can be reviewed in the High Court by a procedure called Judicial Review.
If you wished to contest a decision using this procedure, it would be wise to get legal advice first. You must file the claim in the Court promptly and normally not later than 3 months after the date of the decision.
The protocol for making a complaint about a Parking and Traffic Adjudicator can be found by clicking here. Please note the Chief Parking and Traffic Adjudicator can investigate complaints about personal conduct but not complaints about judicial decisions.
Postal cases are currently being considered by the Adjudicator about 10 weeks after the date the case is scheduled to come into the list. This is an indication only and is correct as at 3rd November 2008. This information will be updated on a regular basis.