Parking fines and enforcement

Parking Penalty Charge Notices have different penalty levels. A higher level £70 penalty is given for parking in a place where parking is always prohibited, such as in areas with waiting and loading restrictions, or for parking in a disabled bay without displaying a valid Blue Badge. A lower level £50 penalty charge is given for less serious contraventions such as overstaying in a parking place or for parking outside of a marked bay.

To encourage prompt payment both the higher and lower level penalties are reduced by 50% if payment is made within 14 days (21 days for Penalty Charge Notices issued by camera car).

The council also uses a CCTV camera car to enforce two 'no stopping' restrictions which are difficult and impractical for a Civil Enforcement Officer to enforce on foot. The camera car is clearly marked as a Road Safety and Enforcement vehicle.

Stopped on a restricted bus stop/stand (code 47)

Stopping is not permitted in bus stops from 7am to 7pm. Bus stops must be kept clear to allow passengers to board and alight from buses safely. The majority of bus stops on the key routes in the town have low floor platforms that enable at grade access to low floor buses directly from the pavement. Vehicles parking in bus stops prevent the bus from accessing the low floor platform and creates serious difficulties for elderly and mobility impaired passengers. With over 700 bus stops in Middlesbrough only a limited level of enforcement can be provided by Civil Enforcement Officers working on foot.

Stopped in a restricted area outside a school (code 48)

Stopping is not permitted on the yellow zig zag markings outside schools in Middlesbrough between the hours of 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday. This area must be kept clear to allow children to enter and leave the school grounds safely. With over 50 schools in Middlesbrough only a limited level of enforcement can be provided by Civil Enforcement Officers working on foot.

The Penalty Charge Notice has been issued because we believe your vehicle broke parking restrictions. The details will be stated on your Penalty Charge Notice.

The amount payable is stated on the Penalty Charge Notice.

You can also view the list of contravention codes and the penalties payable to help you to understand your fine.

If payment is received by the council within 14 days of the Penalty Charge Notice being served, a discounted payment will be accepted. For parking Penalty Charge Notices issued by camera car, the discount period is extended to 21 days. After this time, the penalty will increase to the full charge.

Pay your penalty charge notice online.

Most major debit/credit cards are accepted. You'll need to enter your vehicle registration number and your Penalty Charge Notice number (please note if the PCN has been issued by a Civil Enforcement Officer today it won't be available to pay online until tomorrow).

If you believe that the parking penalty is incorrect or shouldn't be paid, you may wish to challenge the Penalty Charge Notice. If this is the case, please do not pay the fine. Please note that the registered keeper of the vehicle at the time the contravention occurred is liable for the payment of the penalty charge.

All challenges/representations must be made in writing. This is so they can be reproduced should the penalty charge case progress to independent adjudication via the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

Please note if you have received a Parking Penalty Charge Notice/Notice to Owner document in the post and wish to make a formal representation you must follow the instructions on the document.

All cases will be considered on their individual circumstances and you will be sent notification on whether your challenge has been accepted or rejected by Middlesbrough Council. Your case will be placed on hold and the fine held at the amount currently outstanding while we consider your challenge.

If you submit your challenge within 14 days beginning with the date on which the Penalty Charge Notice was served (21 days for Penalty Charge Notices issued by camera car) and the challenge is rejected, the council will re-offer the discount period. You will be given a further 14 days (21 days for Penalty Charge Notices issued by camera car) from the date of the Council’s rejection letter to pay at the discounted amount. If the challenge is submitted outside of the discount period the full penalty charge will be payable if your challenge is rejected.

For parking Penalty Charge Notices served on the vehicle or driver by a Civil Enforcement Officer you can make a challenge:

Online

You can submit your challenge by completing the online appeal form.

Up to three attachments can be added to the form.

By post

Put your challenge in a letter, including the Penalty Charge Notice number, your name and postal address, and with any supporting evidence securely attached. We recommend that you only submit copies of any original evidence; if you wish to submit originals, please ensure that you keep a copy for your records.

Send your challenge to:

Parking Services
Middlesbrough House
50 Corporation Road
Middlesbrough
TS1 2YQ

If your challenge is rejected you have the option to pay the penalty charge or wait for the Notice to Owner document to make a further representation called a formal representation. Please note you can still make a formal representation even if you've previously had a challenge rejected.

Rejected challenges

If your challenge has been rejected by the council, you/the registered keeper will be sent a 'Notice of Rejection of Informal Representations'. You have two options, either:

• Pay the penalty charge
• Wait for the issue of the Notice to Owner document - you may make a formal representation to the council in response to the Notice to Owner.

If the penalty charge remains unpaid, a Notice to Owner document requesting payment of the full penalty charge amount will be sent to the person who was the registered keeper of the vehicle at the time the parking contravention occurred, according to the records held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

The Notice to Owner will give instructions on how to pay or how to make a formal representation to the council. The council will consider the formal representation and you/the registered keeper will be sent written notification on whether your formal representation has been accepted or rejected.

If you do nothing and ignore the Notice to Owner document, you/the registered keeper will be sent a Charge Certificate approximately 28 days later, which increases the amount owed by 50% to £105/£75.

Rejected formal representations

If your formal representation has been rejected by the Council you will be sent a 'Notice of Rejection of Formal Representations'. This will explain that you have two options, either:

• Pay the penalty charge
• Make an appeal to the independent adjudicator via the Traffic Penalty Tribunal

If you do nothing and ignore the 'Notice of Rejection of Formal Representations', you will be sent a Charge Certificate approximately 28 days later, which increases the amount owed by 50% to £105/£75.

Making an appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal is the final stage of disputing a Parking Penalty Charge Notice. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal is independent of the council and there is no charge to make an appeal. You can only appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal if you've first made a formal representation to the council (in response to a Penalty Charge Notice / Notice to Owner) and have received a 'Notice of Rejection of Formal Representations' in response. All appeals made to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal are against the full penalty amount of £50/£70.

A 'Notice of Appeal' form will be attached to the 'Notice of Rejection of Formal Representations'. You must complete this form and send it to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. This must be done within 28 days of being served with the council's 'Notice of Rejection of Formal Representations'. Alternatively you may submit your appeal to the tribunal online using the PIN code provided in the 'Notice of Rejection of Formal Representations'.

You can choose to have your appeal considered by post, or you may have a hearing with the adjudicator either in person or over the telephone. The adjudicator will make a decision, which is binding to both you and the council. Read more about the Traffic Penalty Tribunal and the appeals process.

If the adjudicator dismisses your appeal and you do not pay within 28 days, you will be sent a Charge Certificate, which increases the amount owed by 50% to £105/£75.

The following statutory documents are served by the council in relation to a Penalty Charge Notice:

• Penalty Charge Notice (a combined Penalty Charge Notice/Notice to Owner is sent for postal PCNs)
• Notice to Owner (a combined Penalty Charge Notice/Notice to Owner is sent for postal PCNs)
• Charge Certificate
• Order For Recovery (TE3)

If you do not pay the amount you owe, we'll take action against you/the registered keeper to recover the amount due. The debt will be registered at the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court. You'll be sent an Order for Recovery (TE3) to let you know that a debt has been registered. This also adds a £9 debt registration fee onto the amount you owe.

If the amount still remains unpaid a warrant may then be issued to bailiffs to seize your goods. This will incur additional costs for which you'll also be liable, in accordance with The Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014.

The stages of enforcement and fees added by enforcement agents are detailed below:

1. Notice of enforcement: this is a letter informing the debtor of the debt and giving them an opportunity to pay. A charge is applied to their account which is set to £75.
2. Enforcement stage: physical attendance at the debtor’s address by an enforcement agent to take control of goods. The enforcement agent can take control of goods either at or on the premises, or on the highway. A fixed charge of £235 and 7.5% of any sum over £1500 can be applied to the account.
3. Removal and sale stage: goods are physically removed by the enforcement agent. A fixed charge of £110 and 7.5% on any sum in excess of £1500 is applied.

The money recovered from parking Penalty Charge Notices is used to fund the parking/bus lane service and any surplus is spent on local transport projects.

The council doesn't set up payment plans to allow parking Penalty Charge Notices to be paid in instalments. If an amount is received by the council which doesn't satisfy the penalty in full, the Penalty Charge Notice will progress in line with normal Penalty Charge Notice procedure.

Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) are bylaws created to implement traffic management controls on roads and in car parks. TROs are made to regulate speed, movement and parking. The law requires a TRO to be in place to enable the council to enforce parking and traffic restrictions.  Please note, this is not applicable to bus stops and zig zag markings at pedestrian crossings as no TRO is required to enforce these restrictions. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal keeps a library of TROs which can be viewed online. Middlesbrough Council's TROs can be viewed on their website.

Councils using CCTV to enforce parking and traffic restrictions can only do so by using an 'approved device'. The device must be certified by the Secretary of State for Transport. The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) has been appointed to do this on behalf of the Secretary of State.

The Traffic Penalty Tribunal keeps copies of VCA Certificates in its Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) library which can be viewed online. Middlesbrough Council's certificates can be viewed on their website. View the council's CCTV code of practice.

Filing a witness statement does not cancel the original Penalty Charge Notice. However, if grounds are established, your Penalty Charge Notice may be reset to an earlier stage in the Penalty Charge Notice process.