Hi all, I've been a long time reader of these forums and an occasional user of advice that has been posted but I've never really needed to post before until now.

To cut a potentially long story short, in July I was issued with a ticket in almost the exact same spot and for the same reason code as this thread; http://forums.pepipoo.com/lofiversion/index.php/t79760. The wording on the rear of the PCN is the same as the image posted.

Following the advice given in that thread, I sent an informal appeal to the PCN giving three reasons;

1. The offence it is claimed was committed cannot have been as there is no indicated taxi bay/rank at the location I was parked. The road markings are designated for pay and display bays and the bay in which I was parked is not designated as a taxi rank therefore the contravention ‘45 Parked on a taxi rank’ could not occur.
2. The signage at this location does not indicate a taxi rank, it simply states ‘No waiting 6pm – 8am except taxis’ the reference to parking restrictions is during the hours of 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday therefore the contravention ‘45 Parked on a taxi rank’ did not occur.
3. The wording of the penalty charge notice does not meet the requirements set out by The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007 legislation.

They rejected it and sent an NtO so I sent a formal appeal, stating two statutory grounds;

1. The alleged contravention did not occur
   I was served with the contravention ’45 Parked on a taxi rank’ yet the parking restrictions for the location were not operational at the time I was issued with the PCN. There is no indicated taxi bay/rank at the location I was parked - the road markings are designated for a pay and display bay, outside whose hours of operation it is a no-parking zone except that the restriction does not apply to taxis. The contravention should be either ’01 Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours’ or ’02 Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force’, neither of which I have been served with.
   
2. There has been a procedural impropriety by the enforcement authority
   The wording used within the PCN does not comply with the requirements imposed by the ‘Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007’ legislation.
   On the rear of the PCN under the section headed ‘If the Penalty Charge is not Paid or Challenged’, there are two separate statements;
   i. ‘Failure to pay at this stage will result in the penalty charge increasing by 50%’
   ii. ‘Unpaid penalty charges are ultimately recovered by bailiffs’.
   Use of the word ‘will’ rather than ‘may’ in the first statement (i) implies that there is no right to any further appeal (to an independent Adjudicator) without the penalty charge increasing, which is false and non-compliant with the legislation set out in section 21 (below).
   The second statement (ii) is intimidating in its tone, making a threat which is false and non-compliant with the legislation set out in section 22 (below).

They rejected that as well and sent me a letter with details about appealing to an Adjudicator or paying (at the initial 50% reduced rate). The letter they sent me had a number of problems, which I have brought up in a reply, asking for clarification and another response.

• They only talk about the first statutory ground 'The alleged contravention did not occur', only mentioning the second in a paragraph but at no point stating the words 'There has been a procedural error'.
• They stated that I have 28 days to either pay or appeal, from 20th September - yet the letter was dated 24th September.
• They enclosed an appeal form with the 'official use only' section already pre-filled in, yet they have written my vehicle registration number incorrectly.

As there has been no update to the previously mentioned thread, I'll keep this updated.

So - what do we all think my chances are?

I think you will get some responses when you can show us those letters (all pages please). If no scanner, use a camera. See the FAQs 'how to post pictures'.

Well, I received a response today saying that they have given me the benefit of the doubt and are cancelling the PCN.

They wrote some stuff about the single yellow line and the parking restrictions, but made absolutely no reference to my comments about the wording on the back of the PCN, which I specifically mentioned in my letter to them.

Well done!