The process to challenge a Penalty Charge Notice

How to challenge the issue of a Penalty Charge Notice

If you have been issued with a Penalty Charge Notice which you believe should not have been issued or believe you have mitigating circumstances please follow the process below.

Written correspondence with council

If you have received a Penalty Charge Notice which you believe should not have been issued, please write to South Gloucestershire Council within 28 days. Please include as much detail and evidence as possible as to why you are appealing against the decision.
Please do not telephone as we are unable to accept appeals over the telephone.

We will investigate the points raised in your letter and make a decision as to whether or not the Penalty Charge Notice is valid.
If your letter is received by us within the 14 days allowed for payment of the ticket at the discounted rate but we believe the PCN is valid, we will allow you another 14 days to pay at the discounted rate. 

Write to:

Parking Services
South Gloucestershire Council
Civic Centre
High Street
Kingswood
BS15 9TR

You can also email parklegally@southglos.gov.uk

Representation

If the PCN is not paid within 28 days, a Notice of Owner is sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle. Once you have received a Notice to Owner you have 28 days to pay the charge or make a formal representation to South Gloucestershire Council.

We will consider your case and reply to you. You will receive one of the following responses:

  • We agree the ticket should be cancelled - you will receive a Notice of Acceptance of Representation
  • We do not believe that the ticket should be cancelled - you will be given the reasons why and sent a form to allow you to appeal to the parking adjudicators. You will receive a Notice of Rejection of Representations

If we do not accept your representation, you will have 28 days to pay the penalty or appeal to the parking adjudicators.

Appeal to the parking adjudicators

Once you have completed the first two steps and your representation to the council has been rejected, you can appeal to the parking adjudicators where your case will be dealt with by an impartial adjudicator.

The decision made by the parking adjudicators is final and there are no further appeals. You will be given detailed reasons for the decision.
In order to appeal to the adjudicators, your representation must have already been rejected by the council. 

In order to take your case to the National Parking Adjudication Service your representation must have met the following requirements:

  1. A Penalty Charge Notice has been issued by the council under the Road Traffic Act of 1991 AND
  2. You have received a Notice to Owner form from the council which states that you are liable for payment of a Penalty Charge Notice AND
  3. You have challenged the Notice to Owner and you received a letter from the Council saying that your representation had been rejected. This letter is known formally as a Notice of Rejection of Representations

There is no charge for appealing and your penalty will not increase whilst your case is being considered.
You can either attend the hearing in person or deal with it by post.

NOTE: Making a false statement or presenting false evidence when making a representation or an appeal is a criminal offence carrying with it a maximum fine of £5000.