Unpaid Penalty Charge Notices

Failure to pay or appeal against your Penalty Charge Notice will result in legislative action, to recover the penalty charge.

The information below shows what action will be taken after each period, following the date the PCN was issue.

View PCN details Pay a PCN

After 14 days

You lose the right to pay at the discounted sum after 14 days starting with the date on which the PCN was issued.

After a further 14 days

A Notice to Owner* (or Enforcement Notice**) will be issued to the registered keeper (as held by the DVLA). Failure to act on this will result in a Charge Certificate.

*For PCNs not relating to a bus lane contravention
**For PCNs relating to a bus lane contravention

After a further 28 days

If the PCN remains unpaid after 28 days of the date of service of Notice to Owner (or Enforcement Notice), a Charge Certificate is sent by post which increases the charge by 50% of the original amount, giving 14 days for payment to be made.

Once a Charge Certificate is issued you can no longer make a formal representation. If you were not aware of the contravention prior to receiving the Charge Certificate, or if you have received no reply to a representation or an appeal, you will have to wait to make a Witness Statement/Statutory Declaration

After a further 14 days

If the registered keeper of the vehicle does not respond to the Charge Certificate within 14 days, the local authority may register the debt at Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC), and an Order for Recovery will be served.

At this point, the outstanding amount on the PCN will increase by £8, which is a surcharge of the cost of registering the order. You have 21 days from the date of service to pay the outstanding amount on the Order for Recovery.

Alternatively registered keeper can choose to file a statement on the enclosed form with the Order of Recovery letter and send it to the Traffic Enforcement Centre address located at the bottom of the form.

Statements can only be made on the following grounds:

1. On the basis of a PCN issued by a Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO) or PCN issued by camera for a parking contravention, if the registered keeper:
   • paid the PCN and must provide proof;
   • did not receive postal PCN or Notice To Owner;
   • made representations about the PCN to the local authority within 28 days service of the PCN and did not receive a reply (rejection notice); or
   • appealed to Parking and Traffic Adjudicator against the local authority’s decision to reject their representation, within 28 days service of the rejection notice, but had no response to their appeal.
2. On the basis of a PCN issued by a Camera for a Bus Lane Contravention if the registered keeper:
   • Did not receive the Enforcement Notice
   • Made representations about the PCN to the local authority concerned and did not receive a reply (rejection notice)
   • Appealed to Parking and Traffic Adjudicator against the local authority’s decision to reject representation, within 28 days service of the rejection notice, but had no response to the appeal.

If registered keepers need more time to file a statement they can do this by completing the form enclosed within the Order for Recovery letter. Information about how to do this is included on the letter.

After a further 21 days

If the penalty charge has not been paid within 21 days of the Order for Recovery being served, the Council will file for a Warrant of Execution. Once granted, it will be passed to our certified bailiffs to recover the amount owed.

A certified bailiff is allowed to charge recovery fees for every letter, visit and action taken as part of the effort to recover the outstanding amount.

Any enquiry or complaint about the conduct of the bailiff should be addressed initially to the company for whom s/he works and/or the Court Manager of the court where the bailiff’s certificate was issued. If you are not clear about which court authorised the bailiff’s certificate, contact the local County Court who will be able to assist.