Demonstration by a military guard dog |
Mr G, not his real name, was sent a PCN (for £130 on 30 November for an alleged moving traffic contravention) which was not received.
He knew this as he was sent a £195 charge certificate on 4 January 2025.
Mr Mustard told him that the next document would be an Order for Recovery which would offer him 21 days in which to file a Statutory Declaration that the PCN was not received and then be sent a fresh one.
This is a process which is enshrined in law. Rather than follow the law Barking & Dagenham Council (henceforth 'BaD council') sent the below letter which is enough to shake your fillings loose (and Mr G is prone to panic pay at the best of times):
By not following procedure BaD council make Mr Mustard look like he doesn't know the rules. He was straight onto this having had a chat with Mr G to calm his nerves. He emailed the complaints department at BaD council and copied in the parking department.
Mr Mustard looks forward to receiving a reply and apology but somehow doubts there will be much in the way of contrition.
There are three possibilities when it comes to an Order for Recovery which enable you to rewind the process to an earlier stage or be granted a tribunal hearing. There are tick boxes on the Statutory Declaration.
It isn't often the case that option 3 would apply as the tribunal are very efficient and most Appeals are started on line these days.
Option 1 is what applies to Mr G.
Option 2 happens frequently. You make representations to the council and their response either doesn't happen or get's lost in the post.
These are your democratic rights in this situation. A council cannot take these legal rights away from you.
If you get one of these illegal letters from BaD council please do not pay if you have a justificable ground to swear a Statutory Declaration. Use Mr Mustard's complaint letter as a base for your own complaint. Send it to complaints@lbbd.gov.uk and copy it to parking@lbbd.gov.uk
The end, for now.
(Mr Mustard will make enquiries of the council as to how many times they have sent this letter out in a sample month).
When, when, oh when, is somebody in a council going to be sent to jail for malfeasance !
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