Check car penalty online – Steps by step guide

Are you worried about a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) you’ve received and don’t know what to do next?

You’ve come to the right place for answers. Each month, over 130,000 people visit our website for advice on fines and parking tickets.

In this article, we’ll explain:

• What a PCN is and reasons why you may have one.
• If you must pay it straight away.
• How to say you don’t think the charge is right.
• Times when you might not need to pay.

Believe it or not, in 2021, Churchill Motor Insurance reported an 8% increase in penalty charge notices (PCNs) across Britain, with over 5.2 million issued.¹ You’re not alone!

With our experience, we’ll help you understand your options.

The Difference between a PCN and a Parking Charge Notice

A Penalty Charge Notice is a fine from a local council or transportation authority.

A Parking Charge Notice is a notice from a private company stating that you owe money because you broke private land parking rules. This private parking enforcement is not a genuine fine, but it can still lead to legal consequences if not paid.

It’s important that you know the main differences between one and the other to avoid problems.

Parking fine penalties and deadlines

You’ll have 28 days to pay your PCN from the date you receive it.

Keep in mind that if you pay the PCN within 14 days, you’ll pay a reduced fee and save some money.

However, if you do not pay the PCN within the first 28 days, you’ll be issued a charge certificate, which gives you a further 14 days to pay and increases the fine by 50%. 

It’s important to note that PCNs must be issued within 14 days after the offence, and if they are not, you may not be liable to pay.

There is a clause to this: the time it takes the DVLA to get your information back to the company issuing the ticket.

Anybody who does not pay their PCN after receiving a charge certificate will be issued a court order that forces them to pay.

If not, bailiffs may be used to come to your home and take payment, or they could take control of your valuable goods instead. 

One of the consequences of unpaid PCNs is that you could end up with a CCJ, which is pretty damaging to your credit score and can stop you from taking any forms of credit for as much as six years.

Can you check the parking fine online?

It is not possible to check for an outstanding PCN online, as, at yet, there are no electronic PCN systems or online portal for PCN check.

If you must pay a PCN, the issuer will send you a notice in the post.

Alternatively, if the PCN is for a parking fine issued by your council, the PCN will be left on your vehicle’s windshield. 

You must receive a PCN within 14 days of the offence, or you could use the delay as an excuse to appeal the PCN. 

How to do it

There is no way to do a PCN check online.

If you know you have a PCN and still have the reference number, you can view and pay your PCN online using these details on the issuer’s website. 

» TAKE ACTION NOW: Get legal support from JustAnswer

How to check if you have one

If you think you may have received a parking ticket and forgot to pay, one way to check is by contacting the local council.

They should have a record of any unpaid parking fines in your name.

Your UK local council services may have a dedicated department for fines of this sort and tracking unpaid tickets.

Can you pay it online?

You can usually pay off your PCN online through digital payment methods for PCN.

You’ll need to visit the website of your PCN issuer, which may be your local council or a transport organisation, such as London for Transport.

To pay the PCN, you’ll need to enter some details, including your PCN number, usually found at the top of the notice, and your vehicle registration number.

There are other ways to pay a PCN, which are listed on the PCN letter. 

How do you challenge a ticket?

If you disagree with a PCN issued, you can challenge it. Here’s what a typical appeal process looks like.

Process:	Steps you should take:
When you receive the ticket…	You should gather as much evidence as you can to support your appeal claim and prove that the ticket was unfairly issued.
If you were given the ticket in person/attached to your car…	You must make an informal appeal (sent to the local authority/council that issued the PCN) within 14 days. This should be a letter with the evidence proving why the ticket was incorrectly given.
If it was posted to you…	You will be given 21 days to submit an informal appeal (from the day you received the letter). Your informal appeal should be a letter with the evidence proving why the ticket was incorrectly given.
If the informal appeal is rejected…	You will receive a Notice to Owner and will have 28 days to respond to this with a formal appeal. You can conduct the formal appeal online or via paper form. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal can send you one of these forms.
If the formal appeal is rejected…	You will receive a Notice of Rejection. From here, you are free to challenge the council’s verdict at an independent tribunal.
If the independent tribunal disagrees with your appeal…	You should pay the ticket within 28 days of the tribunal rejecting your appeal. If you don’t, the fine will be increased by 50%. If you don’t have the money to pay the fine, you should contact Citizens Advice or another debt charity.

If a council parking officer left the PCN on your windshield, you must first make an informal appeal to the council.

If this is rejected, you must make a formal appeal.

What to Consider When Appealing

After receiving the PCN, you can make an informal PCN appeal within the first 14 days – or sometimes the first 28 days.

If you make the informal appeal while still eligible for the 50% discount, this discount may still be offered for a limited time if the informal PCN appeal is rejected. 

You can make a formal PCN appeal called a “representation” between 29 and 56 days after the PCN was issued.

The representation can only be made after the vehicle keeper receives a Notice to Owner, a separate letter sent after the first 28 days.  

The formal challenging process, also known as representation, requires you to detail why you believe the PCN should be withdrawn. And you may need to supply further evidence.

You’ll need to submit your appeal within 28 days of receiving the notice, and you usually have to do this by sending a letter to the PCN issuer. 

You may have read a lot online about how it can be difficult to appeal a PCN, especially with a company like Parking Eye. However, this user appealed successfully, so if you believe you shouldn’t be paying the fine, I’d recommend going through the appeals process.

You no longer need to pay the PCN if your formal appeal is accepted.

You can either make the payment or escalate your request if it is rejected. You can do the latter by appealing to an independent tribunal.

References

1. Direct Line Group – 10 parking fines issued every minute across Britain