Enforcement by Parking
Attendants
Remote enforcement
Enforcement by police
Paying a ticket
Appealing against a parking ticket
Vehicle clamping and removal
General assistance
Traffic Management Act 2004
Enforcement methods
Parking
attendants
The parking enforcement service is provided by the City's
contractors, Vinci Park UK, who employ uniformed parking attendants
to patrol the City's streets on foot and by bicycle. Each attendant
has been trained to a high standard and will be able to answer your
parking questions. Parking attendants are equipped with mobile
computers to record offences and to issue tickets. They also have
still cameras to assist in verifying that a ticket was correctly
issued.
Parking attendants are required to issue a ticket when they
observe a contravention. Once they have started issuing a ticket
they are not permitted to stop or abandon the issue. If you believe
a ticket has been issued incorrectly or there are special
circumstances, please refer to our appealing
against a parking ticket information below.
Neither the contractor nor individual attendants are rewarded by
the number of tickets issued.
Remote enforcement
Remote enforcement using closed
circuit television (CCTV) is used for waiting, loading and
traffic contraventions to improve compliance with the
restrictions across the City. CCTV enables these restrictions
to be enforced correctly and even-handedly.
CCTV contraventions are the same as any PCN issued by an on-foot
parking attendant except that the PCN will be sent to the address
of the registered vehicle keeper through the post.
The contraventions for which CCTV is being used have been
prioritised in order to concentrate on those contraventions that
cause the greatest impact on traffic flow or the greatest
inconvenience to other highway users. The contraventions
prioritised include:
- Standing on a pedestrian crossing or its zig-zags
- Standing on the footway
- Waiting or loading where a loading ban is in force (kerb
chevrons)
- Waiting or loading in a bus stop
- Waiting or loading by a non-disabled vehicle in a disabled
bay
- Waiting in a bay specifically designated for loading purposes
only
- ‘Double parking’
-
Traffic offences
Police enforcement
The City of London Police may observe a
contravention which they consider should be enforced. In these
circumstances, the Police Officer will prepare a witness statement
which will be passed to the City of London for enforcement. A PCN
will then be issued to registered keeper of the vehicle.
Paying a parking ticket
A penalty charge will increase the longer it remains unpaid. The
penalty charge is reduced by 50% if payment is received within 14
days of the date the penalty charge notice is served. After 14 days
the amount will revert to the full charge.
You may make payment
- online using a debit or credit
card
- by phone using a credit or debit card. Tel 0845 230 0845 (local
rate applies, ie this is not a premium rate line)
and please have your ticket number ready. This service is available
24 hours a day.
- by post to
City of London
PO Box 4561
Worthing
BN13 1XW
Cheques should be made payable to the Chamberlain of London and
you must write the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) number and the
vehicle registration mark on the reverse of the cheque. Please
note that a Penalty Charge is not paid until it has been received
by us so allow adequate time.
Appealing against a parking ticket
If you believe a Penalty Charge Notice has been wrongly issued
or you have mitigating circumstances, there is a three stage appeal
process.
- You may initially dispute the PCN with us. We will
carefully investigate the circumstances surrounding the issue of
your PCN and either cancel your ticket or explain why it
cannot be cancelled.
- If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may make a
formal representation to us. We will reconsider your case.
- If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome you may appeal to
the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service an
independent tribunal.
Disputing a ticket
You may dispute a ticket:
- online
- by email to
DES-PTO@cityoflondon.gov.uk ,
please ensure you include your full postal address and the ticket
number
- by fax to 020 7332 3776
- by post to Parking Ticket Office, Department of Environmental
Services, City of London, PO Box 270, London, EC2P
2EJ
Whilst we are dealing with your challenge, the charge for the
ticket will not increase. If we reject your challenge and ask for
payment, you will be given further time to make payment before the
penalty increases.
We aim to respond to all challenges within 15 working days.
We may take longer during particularly busy periods or if we have
to make enquiries of others.
Click here for further information about disputing a PCN.
Making a formal representation (with the exception of
Moving Traffic contraventions)
If we reject your challenge or if a ticket remains unpaid after
28 days, we will write to the owner or the keeper of the vehicle
giving details of how to make a formal representation to us. The
owner or keeper must wait until he or she receives a document known
as a Notice to Owner or Enforcement. He or she may then make a
representation:
- online
- by fax to 020 7332 3776
- by post to Parking Ticket Office, Department of Environmental
Services, City of London PO Box 270, London, EC2P 2EJ
We will reconsider the case. Whilst we are dealing with your
representation, the charge for the ticket will not increase. If we
reject the challenge and ask for payment, further time will be
given to make payment before the penalty increases.
Making a formal representation for a
Moving Traffic contravention
The vehicle's owner may dispute a ticket within 28 days of the
date on which the PCN was served (delivered):
- online
- by fax to 020 7332 3776
- by post to Parking Ticket Office, Department of Environmental
Services, City of London PO Box 270, London, EC2P 2EJ
Whilst we are dealing with your challenge, the charge for the
ticket will not increase. If we reject your challenge you will be
issued with a Notice of Rejection and appeal form. You will be
given further time to make payment before the penalty
increases.
We aim to respond to all challenges within 15 working days.
We may take longer during particularly busy periods or if we have
to make enquiries of others.
Further information about disputing a PCN.
Appealing to the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service
If we reject the formal representation, we will send the
necessary forms to enable the owner or keeper to appeal
to the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service. Appeals
must be sent directly to the Appeals Service.
Vehicle clamping and
removal
The City of London, through their Parking Enforcement
Contractor, operates a clamp and removal operation for illegally
parked vehicles.
The clamp release facility and car pound operational hours
are 7 am to 7 pm Monday to Friday. It is closed at
weekends and on Bank Holidays. To make a payment to obtain the
release of your vehicle, call 020 7332 3030. Alternatively, payment
may be made in person at the car pound during operational
hours only.
Vehicles which have been removed to the car pound may be
released during operational hours only. Vehicles can be
released only by the driver personally attending the car pound and
producing at least two forms of proof of identification showing
current address.
The car pound is located at:
Crown Wharf
Bidder Street
Canning Town
London E16 4ST
Nearest station is Canning Town (National Rail, Jubilee line or
Docklands Light Railway). By bus use no 323 from Canning Town
Station or no 115 from Aldgate.
Vehicles may also be clamped or removed as a result of Transport
for London's congestion charging scheme. Visit the
TfL website
or tel 0845 900 1234 for details. Drivers unsure of whether a
vehicle has been impounded may call the Transport for London (TfL)
TRACE line, tel 020 7747 4747. TfL hold details all of vehicles
removed within the London area.
General
assistance
Click here for guidance on avoiding a parking ticket.
For information or assistance with on street parking please
contact the City of London Parking Helpline on 020 7332 3910 or
email
squaremileparking@vincipark.co.uk.
Traffic Management Act
2004
The Department for Transport has recently introduced legislation
which aims to provide a single set of rules for parking and traffic
enforcement throughout England and Wales. The first set of changes,
relating to parking enforcement by Civil Enforcement Officers and
CCTV, went live on 31 March 2008. The final changes, relating to
moving traffic enforcement, is planned to go live in Spring
2009.
As previously advertised on this site, differential parking
penalties were introduced in London on 1 July 2007 and these have
now been extended to the whole of England. Further information on
the changes and links to the legislation are available on London
Councils and the Department for Transport's websites.
http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/doc.asp?docId=21842
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tpm/tmaportal/
The majority of the changes relate to further requirements on
all Local Authorities to operate their systems in a fair,
consistent and transparent way and there are no substantial changes
to the parking regulations on street within London.