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#Post#: 106519--------------------------------------------------
Reading - Minster Street Bus Lane - leased car, PCN not received
yet
By: cs1986 Date: January 19, 2026, 7:58 am
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Greetings and thanks for running this forum!
I have been notified by the lease company of a PCN issued about
entering the bus lane in Minster Street, date of Notice
08/12/2025. Lease company replied to Council with my details
(which are correct).
I haven't received a "new" PCN in the post yet, but I have the
details of the original one, which I checked on the council's
website and it's still pending. Now the original "bribe"
deadline for not challenging the PCN (only paying half of the
£70 amount) has expired. But a Charge Certificate was not issued
yet (or at least I haven't received yet) despite having been
more than 28 days from the original letter (to the lease
company).
Unsure of what to do. Chances are the new PCN got lost in the
post; I don't think the council is going to cancel it.
- Should I contact the council and ask them to pay the reduced
rate?
- What if I want to appeal the PCN?
PCN **as received by lease company**
HTML https://imgpile.com/p/UH4GNku#fsETwFR
HTML https://imgpile.com/p/UH4GNku#s1YtI0l
#Post#: 106542--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reading - Minster Street Bus Lane - leased car, PCN not rece
ived yet
By: fraser.mitchell Date: January 19, 2026, 11:26 am
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Lease companies can sometimes be very badly informed of the law
regarding postal PCNs.
I suggest you first check with them to make sure they haven't
paid it at the discounted rate, because if they have it is game
over, because then, the council will not send out a PCN to you.
Secondly, if they have merely reported your name and address,
ask them when they received advice from the council that their
PCN had been cancelled. The council have 28 days to serve the
second PCN from date of cancellation of the first one.
#Post#: 106551--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reading - Minster Street Bus Lane - leased car, PCN not rece
ived yet
By: cs1986 Date: January 19, 2026, 12:19 pm
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Thank you [member=12]Incandescent[/member] for the reply. So
you're basically suggesting that:
- The lease company might have paid it already - pretty sure it
didn't happen, because if I visit the payment link it still
shows it pending.
- The council may not yet have cancelled the old PCN, and I
should check with the lease company whether they've been advised
or not from the council - I'll try to check with them.
In cases like this, if you know, does the old PCN get cancelled
and a new one issued with a different number? The original one
is definitely still pending. Perhaps it is a sign that the new
one has not been issued yet? Although the lease company replied
to the council on 12/12/2025 so it has been some time now.
#Post#: 106557--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reading - Minster Street Bus Lane - leased car, PCN not rece
ived yet
By: fraser.mitchell Date: January 19, 2026, 1:02 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
The first PCN must be cancelled, and only then can the council
serve a new PCN to the name and address supplied to them by the
lease company. The council have 28 days to serve the second PCN
starting with the date of cancellation of the first PCN. Note
that there will be an interval between the lease company
submitting representations, and the council getting round to
cancelling the first PCN. Councils are not fast moving bodies !
#Post#: 106981--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reading - Minster Street Bus Lane - leased car, PCN not rece
ived yet
By: cs1986 Date: January 22, 2026, 10:50 am
---------------------------------------------------------
After all I've received the new PCN in the post. It looks
exactly like the one I attached (including the PCN number), only
the address and notice date (21/01/2026) are changed.
Minster Street in Reading is a known spot where a lot of PCNs
are issued. A bus-only road, it begins at the end of another
road (King Street) where there is no option to turn anywhere
else bar making a 3-point turn in a normally busy area. The only
sign before the bus lane, signaling that restrictions are in
place, is a 6-line descriptive sign just ahead of the "last good
turn" and horizontal markings indicating "all traffic" to turn
left (into Duke Street) and "bus gate ahead" entering the last
stretch of King Street.
Location of the bus gate:
HTML https://maps.app.goo.gl/TEwVgc2SUFq5toSN9
Here's a YouTube video, taken from a bus (not by me) showing the
route - helps to understand if you haven't been there:
HTML https://youtu.be/CcEu09yww2w?t=680
(the road where I was supposed to turn into to avoid the bus
lane (Duke Street) wasn't closed at the time I went through the
bus lane).
The "descriptive sign" is at 11:34. The driver here stops right
ahead of the bus gate at 11:55 and enters it at 12:20. Cameras
are visible at 12:25.
Some people call it a "trap" and effectively I felt trapped. I
saw the sign with the 6 lines of text and thought "I need to be
careful, there are traffic restrictions ahead" but I did not
realize that I should have turned left there and then. I saw the
road markings, but did not interpret them properly. Finally, I
saw the signs before entering Minster Street, knew exactly that
I should not enter it, yet I saw no other option (as I don't
normally do 3-point turns in the middle of traffic) and thought
that it was too late, so I entered the road and saw the cameras
after.
I am inclined to challenge this. I know common points brought
forward are:
- Unclear signage
- Road layout making it nearly impossible to avoid the bus gate
once past the last intersection where it is possible to turn
left
- A few issues with the wording of the PCN
I should also note that the infraction happened at 10:48, and
the bus gate ends being active at 11:00 - not sure if this
qualifies as "de minimis" violation.
I know the council will very likely reject the appeal. I know
some people have had success with an adjudicator, but others
have not, by browsing through peepipoo archives.
Is there an "update", or recent advice, on how to act when
challenging PCNs at this specific location? And, thanks!
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