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#Post#: 24759--------------------------------------------------
The 50% discount - guidance for those giving advice on council P
CNs - when to advise to pay the discount.
By: ivanleo Date: June 2, 2024, 3:54 pm
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The general rules on the 50% discount:
Very consistently, all councils in England & Wales reoffer the
discount:
1) For roadside PCNs, at long as the PCN is challenged within 14
days of the date of issue,
2) For the notice to owner, as long as the NTO is challenged
within 14 days of the date of issue,
There are virtually no circumstances where anyone should be
advised to pay the discount upon receipt of a roadside PCN.
Regardless of the contravention, everyone should have a shot at
making representations. No matter how clear-cut the case might
be, the council might mess up the response or miss a statutory
or common law deadline.
The only notable exceptions to the above are:
1) Nottingham City Council, which has form for not reoffering
the discount and advice on whether to make representations or
pay the discount must be given on a case by case basis, and
2) Birmingham City Council CAZ PCNs only, where there are
grounds to challenge the PCN but the motorist should be made
aware that making representations means foregoing the discount,
Guidance for all PCNs except Nottingham City Council and
Birmingham City Council CAZ PCNs:
In all other cases, motorist should always be advised to
challenge everything, even if only to buy time. Sometimes all
senior experts are busy but making informal representations
against a roadside PCN can buy several weeks if not a couple of
months. If a motorist appears to have a hopeless case, it's
always worth mentioning the strategy of last resort
HTML https://www.ftla.uk/civil-penalty-charge-notices-(councils-tfl-and-so-on)/l-b-waltham-forest-50r-performing-a-prohibited-turn/msg7581/#msg7581,<br
/>as most adjudicators accept that failing to open a link can
amount to a failure to consider.
Roadside PCNs should always be challenged, please never advise
anyone to pay one of these unless there is something truly
exceptional about the case.
For discount purposes postal PCNs are the same as roadside PCNs,
they should always be challenged and doing so within the
discount window will see the discount reoffered. If you cannot
see a clear ground of appeal, whether a motorist should be
advised to put in a "holding" representation within the 14 days
to preserve the discount or whether the assistance of a more
senior expert should be sought before representations are
submitted is a judgment call you will have to make.
Notice to Owner guidance:
If an informal representation is rejected, then (Nottingham City
Council excepted) always advise motorists to wait for the notice
of owner and explain that as long as the notice to owner is
challenged within 14 days of the date of issue, the discount
will normally be reoffered even if the representation is
rejected. There is always a risk that a given council might
follow Nottingham's lead, but any given OP would have to be
exceptionally unlucky to become a victim of such a change in
policy. It is important to explain that the formal rejection
will reoffer the discount, sometimes OPs get confused and expect
to see the discount reoffered on the face of the NTO, which
obviously cannot ever happen.
When to advise to pay the discount:
Those seeking advice should only be advised to pay the discount
if:
1) All opportunities to make representations (formal and
informal) have been exhausted and,
2) There are no viable grounds of appeal identified by any of
the recognised experts on the site.
#Post#: 25246--------------------------------------------------
Re: The 50% discount - guidance for those giving advice on counc
il PCNs - when to advise to pay the discount.
By: H C Andersen Date: June 7, 2024, 3:50 pm
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This doesn't touch on the issues of hired and leased vehicles
which arise regularly.
If the OP is not the registered keeper then the advice should be
amended IMO to reflect this significant difference.
#Post#: 25253--------------------------------------------------
Re: The 50% discount - guidance for those giving advice on counc
il PCNs - when to advise to pay the discount.
By: ivanleo Date: June 7, 2024, 5:39 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=H C Andersen link=topic=2090.msg25246#msg25246
date=1717793455]
This doesn't touch on the issues of hired and leased vehicles
which arise regularly.
If the OP is not the registered keeper then the advice should be
amended IMO to reflect this significant difference.
[/quote]
Write us a draft and I'll amend. Obviously the draft has to be
around contacting the lease company or finding out what the
lease company's policy is. We not going to have any of this "oh
if it's leased just give up and pay" nonsense.
#Post#: 25273--------------------------------------------------
Re: The 50% discount - guidance for those giving advice on counc
il PCNs - when to advise to pay the discount.
By: H C Andersen Date: June 8, 2024, 5:31 am
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An initial draft:
Parking PCNs
1. PCN Served on vehicle or driver
Establishing the registered keeper
Given authorities' inclination to not cancel at the informal
stage, identifying the registered keeper at the earliest stage
is essential because a NTO can only be challenged within 14 days
if it's received in a timely manner and all preceding advice to
not pay the discount at the informal stage is predicated on the
OP being able to Act upon a NTO within 14 days.
Posters should therefore be asked to confirm the registered
keeper and their DVLA details. Subsequent advice should be
tailored accordingly. The following are suggested:
OP is keeper but address is not current: to notify the authority
formally of their address for service when submitting informal
reps;
OP is not keeper: to notify the registered keeper of the PCN and
to give and take advice as to how they wish to proceed;
If the vehicle is hired this raises numerous permutations:
Hired to the OP under a 'hiring agreement': to provide details
of the hirer;
Vehicle is hired to the OP's employer who provides the vehicle
as part of the OP's salary: to establish the hirer's and
employer's normal practice in these matters and
making clear to the OP that liability cannot be
transferred to them;
Vehicle is used by but not allocated to OP(e.g. works vehicle
whether liveried or not etc.): to establish with the OP
the employment dynamic.
2. PCN issued by post
As OPs invariably redact the keeper's details in the first
instance, to establish the identity of the addressee and their
relationship with the OP, then to consider whether any of the
above applies and advise accordingly.
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