Special features
If payment is not made within 28 days, the enforcement authority issues a ’notice to owner’ and the client has a further 28 days in which to pay the full amount or make representations on specified grounds. The enforcement authority has 56 days in which to respond. If the client’s representations are rejected, s/he has a further 28 days in which to appeal. The grounds for appeal are the same as the grounds for representations. If the appeal is rejected (or any recommendation to the enforcement authority to withdraw the penalty charge notice is not accepted), the client has a further 28 days to pay. If the appeal is withdrawn before a decision is made, the time limit is 14 days.
If the amount due is not paid, the penalty is increased by 50 per cent and a charge certificate is issued. If the amount due is not paid within 14 days, the enforcement authority can register the charge certificate for enforcement in the county court. The authority can then collect the debt as if it were a county court judgment but, as it is not actually required to obtain a county court judgment in order to enforce the debt, the pre-action protocol for debt claims does not apply (see here). Once the penalty charge has been registered in the county court, it is passed to enforcement agents (private bailiffs) for collection by taking control of goods (see Chapter 14). If the bailiff is unable to collect the debt, the local authority can then use other county court enforcement methods. In practice, local authorities appear not to do so, preferring instead to leave the warrant with the bailiffs for the full 12 months.
A traffic penalty enforced through the county court does not have the sanction of imprisonment for non-payment, but the county court has no power to suspend bailiff action (see here), nor can it make an instalment order to prevent enforcement action. If the client claims s/he is not liable to pay the penalty on one of the specified grounds (eg, s/he was not the owner of the motor vehicle at the time), s/he should complete either the form of statutory declaration (PE3) or the witness statement (TE9) which accompanies the court order registering the charge. This must be returned to the court before the end of the 21-day period beginning with the date the order was served. The court can extend this time limit if it considers it reasonable to do so. The court will revoke the registration of the penalty charge (although the local authority can begin the process again) and any warrant of control is automatically cancelled. Any fees charged should be refunded by the local authority/bailiff.1r70.8 CPR. See also ‘Complaint against Harrow LBC’ (Adviser 181 abstracts) and Complaint against Bury MBC, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, 16 00 1003 There are two potential liabilities for having no road tax. One is being the registered keeper of an unlicensed vehicle (criminal) and the other is late renewal of the licence (civil). Both arise under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994. The civil penalty is imposed under section 7A and the criminal offence under section 31A.
The section 31A penalty can be registered in the magistrates’ court for enforcement. It is then recoverable as if payable under a conviction and is treated as a fine (see Chapter 13). The £80 penalty under section 7A is recoverable as a debt due to the Crown – ie, by civil proceedings (see Chapters 10 and 11). In certain circumstances, the client can complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (in England) or the Public Services Ombudsman (in Wales) (eg, if there was a failure to consider compelling reasons for cancelling the penalty charge), but is usually expected to use the appeal procedure where appropriate, unless there are exceptional reasons not to do so.2See P Madge, ‘No Waiting’, Adviser 68, and T Redmond, ‘Parking Complaints’, Adviser 108 The Ombudsman can consider a complaint about the reasonableness of any action of bailiffs acting for the local authority, but does not usually consider the level of bailiffs’ costs.3Complaint against Redbridge London Borough Council (Adviser 162 abstracts). See also Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman factsheet on complaints about parking enforcement at lgo.org.uk/make-a-complaint/fact-sheets/transport-and-highways/parking-enforcement.