7d • Legal
PCNs
Is this another solution for PCNs?
Many people do not realise there is a legal distinction between the “owner”, the “registered keeper”, and the actual driver of a vehicle.
Under civil traffic enforcement legislation, councils will usually pursue the registered keeper whose details are obtained from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. This does not automatically prove who was driving at the time of the alleged contravention.
In many parking and traffic enforcement cases, the process follows several stages:
- Initial Penalty Charge Notice or enforcement notice
- Notice to Owner
- Charge Certificate
- Order for Recovery
- Statutory declaration or witness statement process
- Enforcement action by certificated enforcement agents
Where a 'person' genuinely did not receive the original Notice to Owner or earlier statutory documents, the law provides a remedy through the Traffic Enforcement Centre process.
For certain traffic enforcement matters, a PE3 statutory declaration or TE9 witness statement may be submitted, depending on the type of enforcement involved. This must normally be witnessed by a court officer, solicitor, or authorised person. (So you pop to the local court)
The declaration is not an argument about guilt or innocence. Instead, it is a sworn statement confirming one of several limited statutory grounds, such as:
• The original notice was never received
• Representations were made but no reply was received
• The penalty was paid
• An appeal was lodged in time
If accepted, the enforcement process is generally reverted back to an earlier stage, allowing the matter to be reconsidered lawfully.
In practice, many authorities may decide not to continue enforcement after a reset, particularly where the administrative cost exceeds the value of the alleged debt.
However, there is no guaranteed “infinite loophole”, and repeated or dishonest statutory declarations may amount to contempt of court or fraud.
The key point is this:
The statutory declaration process exists to preserve procedural fairness where notices were not properly served, not to permanently extinguish liability automatically.
Ask yourself: Did they send the Notice registered mail, can they prove it was delivered?
Many enforcement matters rely heavily upon automated administration, postal service presumptions, and cost-efficiency calculations. As a result, procedural errors, defective service, or failures in notice delivery can sometimes lead to cases being discontinued.
Anyone relying upon statutory remedies should ensure that all declarations are truthful, accurate, and supported by genuine non-service or procedural defects of course.
NOTE:
For private parking invoices issued by private parking companies, the process is different and does not usually involve PE3 forms or the Traffic Enforcement Centre. Those matters are generally contractual civil claims rather than statutory penalties! So, where is the contract - often on the way in the car park, where you would have to stop and read the contract and this could be breaking the highway code and be dangerous.
One to think on...👍
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