Notice of Enforcement - asking me to pay twice!

[GeorgieSM]

I was given a Penalty Charge via post for stopping in a box junction by Barnet Council back in May 2017. I had moved house but had not informed the DVLA (my bad, I thought if I changed my Driving Licence it would cover the DVLA - don't make my mistake!).
They sent the charge to my old address. A second charge letter was sent and the person who bought my house kindly gave me the letter in July 2017. I immediately informed Barnet Council of my new address (and DVLA), asked to appeal (it actually wasn't my fault) and then when they wouldn't accept my appeal I paid the £195. Outrageous amount anyway. I received an automated receipt from Barnet Council. All done I thought.
Yesterday I received a letter from Marston Enforcement Officers saying I owed £203 plus 'compliance stage fee of £75, a total of £278 to Barnet Council. When I phoned yesterday the delightful and charming woman (!) told me that because the 'amount was different to what they had on their system' ie £8 difference, I was liable to pay the full amount. On her advice I sent the receipt and the email I sent to Barnet Council informing them of my new address. She told me that Enforcement Officers only make one address check and that they had sent 'several letters and visited my old property.' They hadn't, they had sent one letter according to the new tenant back in November, three months ago.
What do I do now? The Marston contact said she would forward my 'evidence' to Barnet Council but I don't believe her. I don't know who to contact at Barnet Council - it seems once it goes to an Enforcement Agency they wash their hands of it. It can't be right to ask me to pay twice can it? I have until March 4th and if I don't they will send the baliffs. This is terrifying me.
Please help. Apologies for length.

[ploddertom]

Do you still live within Barnet Council area?

[GeorgieSM]

I was given a Penalty Charge via post for stopping in a box junction by Barnet Council back in May 2017. I had moved house but had not informed the DVLA (my bad, I thought if I changed my Driving Licence it would cover the DVLA - don't make my mistake!).
They sent the charge to my old address. A second charge letter was sent and the person who bought my house kindly gave me the letter in July 2017. I immediately informed Barnet Council of my new address (and DVLA), asked to appeal (it actually wasn't my fault) and then when they wouldn't accept my appeal I paid the £195. Outrageous amount anyway. I received an automated receipt from Barnet Council. All done I thought.
Yesterday I received a letter from Marston Enforcement Officers saying I owed £203 plus 'compliance stage fee of £75, a total of £278 to Barnet Council. When I phoned yesterday the delightful and charming woman (!) told me that because the 'amount was different to what they had on their system' ie £8 difference, I was liable to pay the full amount. On her advice I sent the receipt and the email I sent to Barnet Council informing them of my new address. She told me that Enforcement Officers only make one address check and that they had sent 'several letters and visited my old property.' They hadn't, they had sent one letter according to the new tenant back in November, three months ago.
What do I do now? The Marston contact said she would forward my 'evidence' to Barnet Council but I don't believe her. I don't know who to contact at Barnet Council - it seems once it goes to an Enforcement Agency they wash their hands of it. It can't be right to ask me to pay twice can it? I have until March 4th and if I don't they will send the baliffs. This is terrifying me.
Please help. Apologies for length.

I don't live there, I was driving to a work meeting

[ploddertom]

In that case have a read of the following - taken from an external website:


Out of Time Witness Statement

If you have received a letter or a visit from a bailiff/enforcement agent in relation to a Penalty Charge Notice, Congestion charge or a Dart Charge that you had been unaware of, then it is usually the case that all notices from the council, Transport for London or Highways England (in the case of a Dart Charge) had been sent to a previous address. It is usually the case that the reason for this is because the V5C/Log Book had not been updated by DVLA (following a change of address). This is a very common situation indeed.

Fortunately, legislation is in place to protect individuals in such cases. All bailiff enforcement will be halted by completing an Out of Time Witness Statement (TE7 and TE9) or an Out of Time Statutory Declaration (PE2 and PE3) and sending it to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC). If your application is accepted, the warrant of control will be cancelled, all bailiff fees removed and the local authority (or Highways England in the case of Dart Charge) will issue you with a new Notice to Owner.

A word of warning; an Out of Time witness statement is a County Court application and as such, in order to improve the chance of the application being accepted, great care and attention needs to be taken with the drafting these forms (TE7 and TE9). There is no court fee to pay for submitting an Out of Time witness statement. Grounds for completing an Out of Time witness statement (TE7 and TE9)


Legislation allows for an Out of Time Witness Statement/Statutory Declaration (or late appeal) to be submitted on one of the following four specific grounds. These are that:

• You did not receive a Notice to Owner/parking ticket (usually because all notices had been sent to a previous address).
• That you appealed the PCN to the local authority within 28 days of receipt of the NtO but that you had not received a Notice of Rejection.
• That within 28 days from service of the Notice of Rejection you appealed the decision to the Adjudicator but had not received a response.
• That you had paid the PCN in full (before a warrant had been issued).

I have more than one parking debt that I did not know about.


If you have become aware that a bailiff is seeking to enforce more than one penalty charge notice (or Dart Charge) that you had been unaware of, you would need to submit separate Out of Time witness statements for each penalty charge notice. If you do have multiple parking debts, please do consider contacting us for advice.
What will happen when I submit my Out of Time Witness Statement?


The Traffic Enforcement Centre will acknowledge receipt of your forms. They will then advise the council, Transport for London or Highways England (in the case of a Dart Charge) to instruct their bailiff company to cease all enforcement of the warrant. The warrant of control will be placed ‘on hold’ for a few weeks to allow the council etc the opportunity to decide whether or not to allow you to file the witness statement late (out of time). Will the warrant be cancelled if I file an Out of Time witness statement (TE7 and TE9?)


If your application is accepted, the warrant will be revoked, all bailiff fees removed, and the local authority (or Highways England in the case of a Dart Charge) will re-issue a new Notice to Owner.

However, it is very important to be aware that unfortunately, over 60% of Out of Time witness statements are rejected, and sadly, in the vast majority of these cases, the reason for the rejection is because the forms had been very poorly completed. We have recently introduced this new page to our website to outline this problem in more detail. What will happen if my Out of Time witness statement is granted?


If your application is accepted, the warrant will be revoked, all bailiff fees removed and the local authority (or Highways England in the case of a Dart Charge) will re-issue you a new Notice to Owner. Full details can be read on the following page. What happens if my Out of Time witness statement (late appeal) is rejected?


The warrant of control will cease being on hold and bailiff enforcement will recommence.

However, there is an option for you to have the rejection of your Out of Time witness statement reviewed at court. Such an application (on form N244) must be made within 14 days of you receiving the decision from the Traffic Enforcement Centre. Unfortunately, there is a court fee of up to £255 for each Out of Time witness statement that is rejected. Not surprisingly, many people decide not to seek a review.

It is for this reason, that we stress the importance of ensuring that your Out of Time witness statement (TE7 and TE9) is very carefully drafted..and even more so, in cases where you may have more than one outstanding parking debt. The rejection of an Out of Time witness statement is outlined in more detail on the following page.

[ploddertom]

The above is what you should have done at the beginning. As to what to do now then you need to remind Barnet they are responsible for the actions etc of their contractors and this is being very heavy handed for the sum of £8 which they should have asked for at the outset.