Luton Council have issued a PCN incorrectly

[Innocent111]

Hi All,

I wanted advice from this great forum about a PCN notice which has been sent to me. The notice does not have my name stated and more importantly, references a vehicle I have never owned or ever driven.

I don't like disclosing my own details when responding to this type of error for the fear of any organisation using my details to pin this type of fine on me when I know I am not liable. Also to respond back to Luton council you need to state a reason and then provide any evidence however, I don't have any specific evidence for this scenario other than my word.

Any advice and next steps would be greatly appreciated.

[echat11]

What you could do because you have 'reasonable Cause' is go for the evidence, not your car, not you and not your penalty fine.

That will take away the apprehension in contacting the Council.

https://www.gov.uk/request-information-from-dvla Make sure you get Proof of Postage.

[Innocent111]

What you could do because you have 'reasonable Cause' is go for the evidence, not your car, not you and not your penalty fine.

That will take away the apprehension in contacting the Council.

https://www.gov.uk/request-information-from-dvla Make sure you get Proof of Postage.

Do I have to legally reply back to them as this request for information from the DVLA will take at least a week?

[des8]

If the notice is not addressed to you ( The notice does not have my name stated) you should not have opened it but returned it to sender by putting it back in the post and marking the envelope "not known at this address"

I would return it now marked "opened in error... not known at this address"

[Manxman]

If the notice is not addressed to you ( The notice does not have my name stated) you should not have opened it but returned it to sender by putting it back in the post and marking the envelope "not known at this address"

I would return it now marked "opened in error... not known at this address"

That might be morally correct, but it isn't strictly correct legally, is it?

My understanding is that once something has been delivered to the correct location address, then it can be opened by the occupier even if it is addressed to someone unknown*, so long as the occupier does not intend any detriment to that unknown person by opening it.

I open everything that is correctly delivered through my letterbox. I take a special interest in opening anything addressed to anyone who is unknown to me. I want to find out why someone I don't know is using my address as a correspondence address. I think that is a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

I might put it back in the post marked "Not known at this address" or - depending on the nature of the correspondence - I might contact the sender and try to find out what is happening. If it were a letter from High Court Enforcement Agents anybody would be daft to just return it marked "Not known etc..." rather than try to prevent the situation escalating to bailiffs knocking on their door with a warrant.

In these days of identity fraud, cloned number plates etc I don't think you can be too careful or too prudent about who is using your address. It might be a straightforward clerical error or it might be something you should know about...


*The OP has been a bit coy. It's unclear if the PCN is addressed to someone they know or they don't know. "The notice does not have my name stated". Perhaps English is not their first language or perhaps they're being evasive...

[des8]

Bit of a grey area but sensible comments from Manxman

Postal services Act 2000 sec 84 (3) states:
" A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him." (my italics!)

Royal Mail advice is:
"If you’ve received mail which has your address, but not your name, this is because we deliver to addresses rather than names. If this does happen, you can put a cross through the address and write 'Not known at this address' or 'No longer lives here' and put it back in a postbox"