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#Post#: 85796--------------------------------------------------
Bailiff - bus lane PCN gone to collections
DIR By: Chooby
Date: August 15, 2025, 10:04 am
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Hello, I will post my PCN if necessary but I'm currently on a
train. My case has unfortunately gone to collections as I
misplaced my unopened post. I have received a Birmingham City
Council bus lane PCN, however I would have turned off before the
bus lane had my road not been blocked by roadworks and I'm sure
I saw a sign that said bus lane decomissioned. They are
demanding that I pay £190 immediately or they will send an agent
to my address. Should I pay it? Thank you!
#Post#: 85803--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bus lane PCN gone to collections
DIR By: stamfordman
Date: August 15, 2025, 10:19 am
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A bailiff visit adds £235 so you should pay it.
This doesn't stop you making an out of time statement but we'd
need to see the details - 'unopened post' doesn't sound hopeful
as you would have got three letters before they set a bailiff on
you.
#Post#: 85807--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bailiff - bus lane PCN gone to collections
DIR By: Chooby
Date: August 15, 2025, 10:26 am
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If I pay it am I able to reclaim the money if I can prove that I
was forced to enter the bus lane or there was a decommissioned
sign? Thank you
#Post#: 85809--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bailiff - bus lane PCN gone to collections
DIR By: stamfordman
Date: August 15, 2025, 10:31 am
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--- Quote from: Chooby link ---
>
> If I pay it am I able to reclaim the money if I can prove that
I was forced to enter the bus lane or there was a decommissioned
sign? Thank you
>
--- End Quote ---
Eventually perhaps but the process is at a stage where you have
to get the escalation to enforcement action cancelled first. If
you ignored a PCN posted correctly to you then there is no hope.
#Post#: 85810--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bailiff - bus lane PCN gone to collections
DIR By: Chooby
Date: August 15, 2025, 10:32 am
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Ok thanks, I didn't intentionally ignore them. Thanks
#Post#: 85854--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bailiff - bus lane PCN gone to collections
DIR By: 404BrainNotFound
Date: August 15, 2025, 2:27 pm
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In the present case the penalty charge notice issued by
Birmingham City Council for an alleged bus lane contravention
has progressed to the stage of enforcement under a warrant of
control issued pursuant to Part 75 of the Civil Procedure Rules
and the Traffic Enforcement Centre procedure. The sum of £190
now demanded by the enforcement agent represents the principal
penalty, statutory surcharges, and the £75 compliance stage fee
prescribed by paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Taking Control of
Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014. If payment is not made before the
expiry of the compliance stage, the enforcement agent is
entitled to attend the debtor's address and add a further £235
enforcement stage fee under paragraph 2 of the same Schedule,
irrespective of whether any goods are removed.
The only lawful method to prevent the enforcement process from
continuing and to reopen the underlying merits of the PCN at
this stage is to submit a statutory declaration or witness
statement to the Traffic Enforcement Centre under CPR 75.5 and
75.8, accompanied by an application to file it out of time under
CPR 75.8(2). The grounds on which such an application can be
made are limited to the statutory categories set out in the
relevant form (TE9 or PE3 for moving traffic contraventions),
typically that the original PCN was not received, that a
representation was made but not responded to, or that an appeal
was lodged but not determined. In your case the explanation that
the correspondence was mislaid or left unopened is unlikely,
without more, to amount to good reason for an extension of time.
The court will require a credible account supported by evidence
explaining why you were prevented from responding within the
statutory period, in accordance with the guidance in cases such
as Hackney LBC v Okoro [2011] EWHC 3566 (QB).
If the out-of-time application is granted, the warrant of
control is automatically revoked pursuant to CPR 75.8(5) and the
enforcement agent must cease action. This would enable you to
revert to the earlier stage of the statutory process and advance
a substantive defence that entry into the bus lane was
unavoidable due to roadworks or that signage indicated
decommissioning of the lane. The evidential burden would then be
upon you to produce contemporaneous proof of the obstruction and
signage, supported if possible by photographs, video evidence,
or traffic management orders obtained from the local authority
under the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985. The
relevant test for signage adequacy is derived from the
principles in London Borough of Camden v The Parking Adjudicator
[2011] EWHC 295 (Admin), namely whether the signage complied
with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016
and was sufficient to inform the reasonable motorist.
Should the out-of-time application be refused, you may apply for
a review under CPR 75.5(5) and CPR 75.8(6) by filing an N244
application within 14 days, seeking a hearing before a District
Judge. This will attract a fee but will provide the opportunity
to give sworn evidence as to why the statutory declaration could
not be filed in time and why the refusal should be set aside.
The District Judge will assess whether refusal would result in
injustice in light of all the circumstances.
Strategically, you should lodge the out-of-time statutory
declaration immediately to prevent further enforcement
escalation, while also making a protective payment of the
current £190 if you have the means to do so. This payment will
prevent the £235 enforcement stage fee from being added, and if
your application succeeds, the council will be required to
refund the payment. The risk in paying now is that recovery of
the sum will be contingent upon success in the statutory
declaration process, but the risk in not paying is that you will
be liable for an irrecoverable additional £235 plus possible
removal and storage fees under paragraphs 3 and 4 of the 2014
Fees Regulations.
The remedies therefore are, in combination, to submit a TE9
statutory declaration and TE7 application to file out of time
with detailed evidence of the misdelivery or misplacement of the
correspondence, to prepare contemporaneous evidence for the
substantive defence on signage and roadworks if the matter is
reinstated, and to make a protective payment to limit exposure
to further enforcement fees. This approach preserves your legal
position under the statutory scheme, avoids unnecessary
escalation of enforcement costs, and maximises the prospect of
both revoking the warrant and succeeding on the substantive
merits.
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