If you get a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) you have two options – PAY or CHALLENGE.
Please do not ignore a PCN. It will not go away!
Payment Options
Details of how to pay or what to do next are shown on the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). If you ignore the notice you will lose the option to pay at the reduced rate and we will send you a Notice to Owner and explain what you must do next.
You can pay:
- By Credit or Debit Card - payments can be made by calling 01473 433777 at anytime (automated service)
- By Cheques/Postal Orders made payable to Ipswich Borough Council. These can be sent to Ipswich Parking Service, PO Box 667, IPSWICH IP1 9AR. Completed credit/debit card payment slips detached from the PCN can also be sent to the same address. PLEASE DO NOT SEND CASH IN THE POST.
- By cash at the One-Ipswich Customer Service Centre, Town Hall, Princes Street, Ipswich.
How much does it cost?
Penalty Charge Notices are separated into Higher Band charges for more serious contraventions, such as parking on double yellow lines, and Lower Band charges for less serious contraventions such as overstaying the time purchased in a Pay & Display car park. The Charges are:
| | STANDARD CHARGE | 50% 14-DAY DISCOUNT | CHARGE CERTIFICATE |
| HIGHER BAND | £70.00 | £35.00 | £105.00 |
| LOWER BAND | £50.00 | £25.00 | £75.00 |
A 50% discount is available on the standard charge if the payment is made within 14 days of the Penalty Charge Notice being issued. If you challenge the Penalty within the discount period and the challenge is rejected, we will generally extend the period within which the reduced charge may be paid.
If you ignore the Penalty Charge Notice and the matter remains unresolved after a period of 56 days a Charge Certificate may be issued. The Charge Certificate increases the standard charge by a further 50%. If you continue to ignore the matter the Council will register the debt with the County Court. Bailiffs will be instructed to serve the Court Warrant, incurring further costs.
Who has to pay?
Legally the owner/keeper of the vehicle is responsible and they will be pursued in any further action.
To CHALLENGE (appeal) a PCN:
You can contest a PCN if you believe that you have been "booked" unfairly - but if the mistake is yours you are unlikely to be successful. All communication must be in writing. Please do not telephone, as we are unable to accept challenges, evidence or appeals made over the telephone.
If you believe that the Penalty Charge Notice you received should not have been issued or that there are special reasons why it should be cancelled, the following notes explain the appeals procedure. There are 3 stages of appeal:
- Stage 1: Initial Correspondence Challenge within 14 days of PCN issue;
- Stage 2: Make Representations to Council at the Notice to Owner stage; and
- Stage 3: Make a formal Appeal to the Parking Adjudicators, an independent tribunal.
Challenge Stage 1: Initial Correspondence
If you have received a Penalty Charge Notice that you do not think should have been issued, please write as soon as possible to Ipswich Parking Service, PO Box 668, Ipswich, IP1 9AS.
Tell us as much as you can about your reasons for why ticket should be cancelled, explaining your reasons for dispute. Ensure your challenge remains related to the case.
Provide us with as much evidence as you have to support your claim. Make your challenge using full facts and details, but do keep this relevant to the case.
You can submit your Challenge online using the Challenge form available here.
When you write to challenge a PCN, we investigate the points raised in your letter and make a decision as to whether or not the Penalty Charge Notice must be paid. We will let you know as soon as we can, usually within 14 days. Our letter will give details of what to do next, and the further options open to you.
If your letter is received by us within the 14 days allowed for payment of the ticket at the discount rate, and even if we do not cancel or waive the ticket, we will "hold" the discount and allow you another 14 days to pay at the discounted rate.
You can make further representations (see below) but you must now wait until we send the "Notice to Owner" document.
Challenge Stage 2: After the Notice to Owner has been sent
A Notice to Owner document will be sent in accordance with the Regulations. You may make formal representations to the Council only after receiving a Notice to Owner. There are several grounds on which representations may be made and details of these are given on the Notice to Owner.
How to make FORMAL REPRESENTATIONS against a parking ticket if you have a dispute at the Notice to Owner stage:
You should use the Notice to Owner form to make any formal representations, by ticking one of the six boxes, or tell us anything else which you dispute about the charge. You can send additional evidence or continue on a separate sheet but keep to just the facts in the case.
There is not yet an online equivalent of the Notice to Owner form - the one received by post must be used.
When you make representations against a PCN, we investigate the charge against any evidence we have, and make a decision as to whether or not the Penalty Charge Notice must be paid. We will let you know as soon in writing as we can, usually within 14 days. If the ticket cannot be cancelled, we will send a form, which will allow you further appeal to the Parking Adjudicator (described in stage 3, below).
* The Notice to Owner explains how to make formal representations against a PCN. These must be made in writing, using the form.
In making its decision, the council will consider if, on the evidence available, it considers that a contravention of parking regulations had occurred. The Council has to consider any mitigating circumstances, and may exercise discretion even if it considers a contravention has occurred.
The Council will now write to you, letting you know whether the parking ticket stands or has been withdrawn.
At this stage, if the Council rejects representations, a "Notice of Rejection" will be sent, with details of how to Appeal to an independent Adjudicator at a tribunal.
Challenge Stage 3: when Notice of Rejection and Formal Appeal forms are sent
You cannot appeal to the Parking Adjudicator until you have been told by the Council that your representations have been rejected. Details of how to contact the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (formally known as NPAS) will be provided on your decision letter.
How to APPEAL against a parking ticket if you still have a dispute after the council has issued a "Notice of Rejection":
If you do not agree with the council's decision you may appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal using the forms that will be sent to you. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal is a totally independent appeal service and is FREE to motorists. All Traffic Penalty Tribunal appeals are dealt with by experienced lawyers
The Traffic Penalty Tribunal has been set up to ensure that unresolved legal disputes between the motorist and the council can be heard at a formal tribunal hearing.
Your case will be considered by an experienced lawyer who is independent of the council. You may choose whether to attend the hearing in person or deal with it by post; telephone appeals are also being trialled. The Adjudicator's decision is final and binding upon both you and the council. In some circumstances, the Adjudicator may refer cases which he/she feels more discretion could have been used, back to the council.
You can find out more about the Traffic Penalty Tribunal parking adjudicators by visiting their website (opens in a new window).