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Penalty Charge Notices

Penalty charge notices

There are two levels of charges for a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). These are currently £50 and £70. This fee is set by the Secretary of State. The level of charge depends on the type of contravention committed. However, provided you agree to pay the charge within 14 days, these amounts are reduced by half.

In certain exceptional circumstances, such as the Civil Enforcement Officer being threatened or subjected to violence, or the vehicle being driven away, there is no requirement for a PCN to be placed on a vehicle or handed to a driver in order for it to be served. In these circumstances, the PCN can be posted to the registered keeper of the vehicle.

Paying a PCN beginning with BW (received in a car park)

If your Penalty Charge Notice begins with BW; it was issued to you by Brentwood Borough Council.

In order to make a payment for your Penalty Charge Notice you will require the following details:

  • You will need the Penalty Charge Notice number
  • The registration number of the vehicle to which the penalty Charge was issued
  • A credit or debit card

Automated 24/7 telephone payment line - 0345 200 1173 (Please note: For Penalty Charge Notices received in a car park only)

Calls cost no more than calls to geographic numbers (01 or 02). Calls from landlines are typically charged up to 9p per minute; calls from mobiles typically cost between 3p and 40p per minute depending on your network provider. Calls from landlines and mobiles are included in free call packages.

Paying a PCN beginning with XP (received on the street)

If your Penalty Charge Notice begins with XP; it was issued to you by South Essex Parking Partnership who operate on behalf of Chelmsford City Council.

In order to make a payment for your Penalty Charge Notice you will require the following details:

  • You will need the Penalty Charge Notice number
  • The registration number of the vehicle to which the penalty Charge was issued
  • A credit or debit card

Challenging a PCN (received in a car park)

We will only accept challenges made within 28 days of the Penalty Charge Notice being issued. The challenge must be received within 14 days of the Penalty Charge Notice being issued to allow the Penalty Charge Notice to be held at the 50% discount should a rejection be made. Should you wish to appeal after the 28 days; you will have the opportunity to make a representation once you’ve received your Notice To Owner.

We are only able to process challenges that have been submitted to us via our online form or by post. If submitting your challenge by post please include copies of relevant documents e.g. pay and display tickets, your blue badge etc.

Do not send original documents as you may need these later.

Upon receipt of a challenge we will place the case on hold. This means the charge will not go up.

We will consider the matter carefully and write to you with our decision. If we reject your challenge, you will be given the opportunity to pay the parking ticket at the level it was when we received your challenge.

If you want to challenge a parking ticket do not pay it. We are not prepared to consider challenges after the penalty charge has been paid.

There are two ways to challenge a Penalty Charge Notice, by post or by the the online form below:

If challenging by Post please ensure you include the following details:

  • Penalty Charge Notice reference number (on reverse of notice)
  • Vehicle Registration Number
  • Full Name & Address including Postcode
  • Reason for appeal including copies of any evidence

Please sent postal challenges to the following address:

The Parking Enforcement Department, PO BOX 7113, Brentwood, CM15 8YZ

Challenging a PCN (received on the street)

On street enforcement in Brentwood is delivered by the South Essex Partnership. To challenge a Penalty Charge Notice that has been issued by them please submit your details via the South Essex Partnership portal.

Contact Details for South Essex Parking Partnership: Chelmsford City Council, Civic Centre, Duke Street, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1JE:

During office hours: Monday - Friday 08:45 - 16:45
Telephone: 01245 606710
Email: parking@chelmsford.gov.uk

PCN processes

There is a formal process that the Council is required to follow when enforcing a Penalty Charge Notice. The processes are explained below:

  • Penalty Charge Notice

A Penalty Charge Notice is issued to a vehicle for one of the contraventions against the parking order. A 50% discount is offered if the Penalty Charge Notice is paid within 14 days after the Penalty Charge Notice being issued. You are also given the opportunity to appeal within the first 28 days of the Penalty Charge Notice being issued if you believe that the Penalty Charge Notice was wrongly issued.

  • Notice to Owner

If the Penalty Charge Notice (parking ticket) hasn’t been paid within 28 days, and it hasn't been cancelled after an appeal, we automatically request the name and address details of the registered keeper of the vehicle from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Once we have been provided with an address from DVLA for the registered keeper we then send a legal document called a Notice to Owner. We’re obliged to do this by law and do so even if we have already had correspondence about the penalty from a different person or address.   

The Notice to Owner gives the registered keeper (who is liable for the charge) a further 28 days either to pay the full penalty charge or to make formal representations to us.

  • Charge Certificate

If you do not pay or submit a formal representation to the Notice to Owner after 28 days, the charge will increase by a further 50 per cent and the registered keeper of the vehicle will be sent a Charge Certificate. Once a Charge Certificate has been sent, you have lost your statutory right to challenge (appeal) the Penalty Charge Notice.

  • Order for Recovery and Witness Statement

If no payment is received within 14 days of the date of the Charge Certificate, we will apply to register the outstanding debt with the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court. The registered keeper will then be sent an Order for Recovery (TE3 form) and a Witness Statement - Unpaid Penalty Charge (TE9 form). At this stage, the charge will increase by a further £8.

When a Penalty Charge Notice has progressed to Order for Recovery, it is too late for us to accept any representations made. The only options available are to either pay the charge or to file a Witness Statement with the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court on one of these four grounds:

1.      I did not receive the Notice to Owner / Penalty Charge Notice (Parking contravention).

2.      I appealed against the council’s decision to reject my challenge, within 28 days of the rejection notice, but have had no response to my appeal.

3.      I made representations about the penalty charge to the council within 28 days of the Notice to Owner, but did not receive a rejection notice.  

4.      The penalty charge has been paid in full. (You will need to state the date it was paid, how it was paid and to whom it was paid.)

If you believe one of these options applies to your situation, and you wish to file a Witness Statement, complete the TE9 form and return it to The Traffic Enforcement Centre at County Court Bulk Centre, St Katherine's House, 21 – 27 St Katherine's Street, Northampton, NN21 2LH.

If you do not have the TE9 form, please contact the Traffic Enforcement Centre using one of the following options:

Telephone: 0300 123 1059
Email: tec@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk

Note: There are only four limited grounds on which you can make a statement (as detailed above). Proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against you if you make, or cause to be made, a false statement in any document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.

If none of the options applies to your situation then the only option available is to pay the charge.

or by telephone (using a credit or debit card) on 0345 200 1173, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Alternatively, payment can be made by cheque made payable to ‘Brentwood Borough Council’, quoting the Penalty Charge Notice number and sent to: ADD ADDRESS

  • Enforcement Agents (formerly bailiffs)

If the Penalty Charge Notice remains unpaid for 21 days following the registration of the debt, a Warrant of Control (formerly known as a Warrant of Execution) will be issued and the case will be passed to a certificated Enforcement Agent (formerly known as bailiffs) to recover the debt on our behalf.

Enforcement Agent action is split into three different stages, each with its own additional fees which you will have to pay on top of the outstanding sum of the PCN:

Compliance stage

Once the charge has passed to the Enforcement Agent, they will write a letter of compliance to you, or visit you within 14 days to serve a Notice of Enforcement. This notice advises of the outstanding debt, plus any additional fees. Following the delivery of this notice, if the debt remains unpaid the case will then progress to the Enforcement Stage.

  • Compliance stage fees - £75

Enforcement stage

This stage involves the attendance of an Enforcement Agent to recover the debt, plus additional fees incurred. Please note: the fee of £235 is payable from the first attendance when an Enforcement Agent visits your premises.

  • Enforcement stage fees - £235 (plus 7.5 per cent for debts over £1,500)

Sale stage

This stage involves the selling of your goods in order to pay the outstanding debt, plus any additional fees incurred.

  • Sale stage fees - £110 (plus 7.5 per cent for debts over £1,500)

Once the case is with the enforcement agents, it is too late for us to accept any representations (or payments) about the case. You will need to contact the Enforcement Agent or to seek legal advice as soon as possible to avoid any additional charges. The Enforcement Agent is listed on the Warrant of Control (formerly known as Warrant of Execution). You can contact the relevant Enforcement Agent on the following numbers:

Marston - 0845 074 3749

  •  Enforcement Agent complaints

Enforcement Agents are licensed by the court, while central government sets the scale of charges they use. If you're unhappy with any aspect of your experience with an Enforcement Agent, there is a complaints procedure you can follow. Contact the Enforcement Agent for details of their complaints procedure.  

Further information

The following links are to independent organisations. The sites explain more about parking enforcement and penalty charges.