Letter to Sunderland Echo

Rob Ford
The Letters Editor
Sunderland Echo
Sunderland

Dear Sir

In addition to Eric Brittain's open letter to Sunderland City Council's Chief Executive '(What's Going on? ... Echo Letters 7th August) there is more information to add.

On 16th June 2005 the Council's Assistant City Solicitor instructed NCP to change the wording of the Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) 'without delay' following information the council received from the National Parking Adjudication Service. The PCNs were not changed for at least 6 months and Sunderland issued, processed and banked the money from over 12,000 non-compliant PCNs in the full knowledge that they were unlawful.

On 2nd August 2006 a High Court ruling meant that if a PCN was non-compliant, ie. did not have the 'Date of Issue' (as in Sunderland's case before November 2005) as well as the date and time of the contravention then it was 'non-compliant' re-iterating the advice Sunderland had received a year earlier. If the PCN was non-compliant then, as Justice Jackson stated, 'no financial liability arose.'

Sunderland claim that if a motorists paid a non-compliant PCN then they 'accepted' the contravention.

However, a recent Local Government Ombudsman decision has changed this. On 25th April 2007 in response to a complaint the LGO wrote to Mr X in Bolton who had paid a non-compliant PCN stating that he could appeal against the PCN to the National Parking Adjudication Service even though he had paid it. In light of the new evidence (the High Court decision) the LGO told him to write to the Council seeking a refund of the £30 paid and request that the Council should issue a Notice to Owner which could then be appealed.

Mr. X did just that and was reimbursed the £30 by the Council who duly issued a Notice to Owner which can now go through the appeals process ... and Mr. X can apply the High Court ruling against the non-compliant PCN.

Therefore, the same rule will apply in Sunderland if you were issued with a PCN before they were changed on or around November 2005. Anyone wishing for a copy of the High Court decision and the Local Government Ombudsman letter can e-mail me at neil.herron@btconnect.com

Meanwhile, I wish to add to the 'open letter' to the Chief Executive. In the Sunderland Echo (23rd November 2006) it was reported that councillors voted unanimously to remove NCP from the on-street contract after a BBC programme exposed racism and corruption. We are now 9 months down the line with NCP still issuing PCNs on street. I would be grateful if the Chief Executive could explain.

Yours sincerely,


Neil Herron

12 Frederick Street
Sunderland
SR1 1NA