Challenge your PCN Online
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Frequently Asked Questions
How to Appeal
Stage 1 - Initial challenge to the PCN
You can contact Lancashire Parking Services after receiving a Penalty Charge Notice by telephone, by post or by email.
The Lancashire Parking Services enquiries line cannot be used to lodge an appeal as these must be received in writing. In order to protect your 14 day, 50% discount period, your written appeal needs to be received by us within the first 14 days after the Penalty Charge Notice has been issued. If your correspondence is received later than the first 14 days, you will be liable to pay the full charge amount should your Penalty Charge Notice be upheld.
State your case clearly and simply. If you have evidence to support your claims such as receipts or witness statements, send these in. (We recommend that you always send copies only and hold on to the originals).
When we have received your correspondence and investigated your case, we will write back to you, either accepting or rejecting your challenge.
If you have written within 14 days of receiving the Penalty Charge Notice and Lancashire Parking Services reject your challenge, you should be offered the chance to pay the 14 day discounted amount.
You can begin the process by submitting your initial challenge online or if you wish to include documentation please download our printable version.
Stage 2 - Formal Representations to Lancashire Parking Services
Should your informal challenge be rejected and you do not pay the charge, a Notice to Owner will be sent to the person or company that is the legally registered owner of the vehicle. At this stage, the full Penalty Charge Notice will be payable and no 50% discount will be offered.
This Notice goes to the person believed to be the owner of the vehicle as under the Traffic Management Act 2004, it is the owner of the vehicle who is liable for any Penalty Charge Notice(s) issued to it; irrespective of who the driver was. This is known as owner liability.
If you receive a Notice to Owner, you can use the form to make formal representations. The Notice to Owner form details the legal grounds on which a formal representation may be made. You must make your representations within 28 days of receiving the form. Again, state your case clearly and simply. If you have evidence to support your case, such as receipts or witness statements; send copies in with your completed form (always send copies only and hold on to the originals).
If you do not think you meet one of the legal grounds for making a representation, you may still state your case as we are still able to exercise discretion and cancel the Penalty Charge Notice at this stage.
Should your Penalty Charge Notice be cancelled at this stage, you will receive a letter informing you of this. If it is upheld you will be sent a letter explaining why. This is called a Notice of Rejection of Representations. With this letter, you should receive a form called a Notice of Appeal, allowing you to appeal to the Independent Parking Adjudicator.
Stage 3 - Appealing to the Independent Parking Adjudicator
You may only appeal to the independent Parking Adjudicator if you have first used the ‘Notice to Owner’ form to make representations to the council that issued the PCN and have received their ‘Notice of Rejection of Representations.
The decision made by the Independent Adjudicator is final and is binding on both the council and the appellant. Your ‘Notice of Rejection of Representations’ will explain how to enter this process.