3d • SARs AND DSARs
2nd Charge Certificate same PCN
Can I have a review please of my reply to Bristol City Council.
Bit of history.
TEC dispelled the first charge.
So I have received a further charge certificate for the same PCN. I have a SAR request submitted 3rd August 2026 waiting for the reply.
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Subject: FORMAL NOTICE – Charge Certificate Issued Whilst Subject Access Request Remains Outstanding
PCN Reference: BS65013520
Dear Sir or Madam,
We write further to the above Penalty Charge Notice and, specifically, to the further Charge Certificate which has now been issued.
A formal Subject Access Request (“SAR”) has already been submitted and remains outstanding. Within that request, we expressly and politely requested that no further enforcement charges or procedural escalation be undertaken pending proper fulfilment of the SAR.
Notwithstanding that express request, a further Charge Certificate has now been issued.
Outstanding statutory right of access
For the avoidance of doubt, the SAR engages the statutory right of access provided for by the applicable data-protection regime, includingArticles 12 and 15 of the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, as applicable to the processing concerned.
The purpose of the right of access is not merely administrative. It enables a data subject to obtain the personal data being processed, together with prescribed supplementary information, so that the processing and the factual record upon which decisions have been made may properly be understood and, where appropriate, its lawfulness verified.
The Information Commissioner’s Office makes clear that a controller is ordinarily required to comply with a valid SARwithout undue delay and, in the ordinary course, within one month, subject only to the applicable statutory provisions concerning matters such as identification, necessary clarification, complexity and lawful extension.
Further enforcement whilst material information remains outstanding
We recognise that the making of a Subject Access Request does not, of itself, automatically impose a statutory stay upon every separate enforcement procedure.
That, however, is not the point presently raised.
The material concern is that the Authority was expressly placed on notice that information relevant to this matter had been requested pursuant to a statutory right of access, and was specifically asked to refrain from increasing the financial or procedural consequences of the PCN until that information had been supplied.
The Authority has nevertheless proceeded to issue a Charge Certificate whilst the requested disclosure remains outstanding.
In those circumstances, we respectfully require the Authority to identify theactual legal and procedural basisupon which it considered it proper to continue escalation notwithstanding the outstanding SAR and the express request that the matter be held pending disclosure.
It is insufficient merely to rely upon the fact that a document has been generated administratively. The existence ofostensible administrative authorityshould not be confused with theactual statutory or delegated authorityrelied upon for the particular step taken. Where authority is asserted, the underlying legal and procedural basis should be capable of identification and substantiation.
Preservation of records and contemporaneous evidence
Please further ensure that all records relevant to the PCN, its enforcement, the SAR, and the decision to issue the Charge Certificate are preserved.
This includes, without limitation, correspondence, case-management notes, audit trails, system logs, internal referrals, decision records, photographs, recordings, metadata and records identifying the dates and material circumstances in which enforcement decisions were made.
We particularly request preservation of thecontemporaneous record showing when the SAR and the request to suspend further escalation were received, considered and acted upon, together with any record identifying the person, officer or automated process responsible for authorising the subsequent Charge Certificate.
Formal request for immediate hold and review
Accordingly, we respectfully request:
1. that the Charge Certificate and any further enforcement action be placed on immediate administrative hold pending resolution of this issue and completion of the outstanding SAR;
2. that no further charge, surcharge, registration or enforcement step be added or undertaken whilst the matter is under review;
3. that the Authority confirm the present status and statutory deadline applicable to the outstanding SAR;
4. that the Authority identify the statutory and/or delegated authority relied upon in issuing the Charge Certificate notwithstanding our earlier written request;
5. that the Authority provide the contemporaneous record of the decision to proceed with escalation after receipt of that request; and
6. that, if the Charge Certificate was generated automatically, the Authority confirm that fact and identify what human review, if any, occurred before or following its issue.
Nothing within this correspondence should be construed as an admission of liability, waiver of any procedural or statutory right, or acceptance that the additional sum stated within the Charge Certificate has become properly due.
We seek no preferential treatment. We seek onlyprocedural regularity, documentary substantiation and a fair opportunity to consider the relevant evidence before the enforcement position is further prejudiced by additional charges or procedural escalation.
We should therefore be grateful for written confirmation, as a matter of priority, that further escalation has been placed on hold and that the outstanding Subject Access Request is being dealt with in accordance with the applicable statutory requirements.
Yours faithfully,
John Rice
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2nd Charge Certificate same PCN
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