Dealing with parking debt
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- Marston Group Ltd/Newlyn PLC
- Pre-County Court registration letters
- Letters Received following warrant issue
If you receive a Penalty Notice Charge (PCN) for a parking contravention, you must follow the statutory process set out by the Traffic Management Act 2004.
If you receive a PCN for a bus lane contravention, the statutory process is set out under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and London Local Authorities Act 1996. For Moving traffic offences PCNs the London Local Authorities and TFL Act 2003 applies.
To find out more information on the PCN process, please visit the following link Parking Penalty Charge Notice enforcement process | London Tribunals.
Marston Group Ltd and Newlyn PLC
Marston Group Ltd and Newlyn PLC are Debt Management and Enforcement Agencies working on behalf of the Lewisham Council to recover payment of unpaid Penalty Charge Notices (PCN).
Important: Once a Penalty Notice Charge (PCN) has reached the stage of being passed to Marston or Newlyn, you must only contact them to liaise regarding payment and any other issues.
County Court registration letters
If the charge is not settled following the issue of the Charge Certificate, the debt will be registered at the County Court and an Order for Recovery sent adding a court charge fee of £9.00; this is the final notice before Enforcement Agencies’ action.
The Order for Recovery gives the registered keeper of the vehicle the opportunity of either paying the PCN in full, filing a Statutory Declaration or if applicable a Witness Statement.
Grounds for Witness Statement
- I did not receive the Notice to Owner/Penalty Charge Notice (Parking contravention)
- I made Representations about the penalty charge to the enforcing authority concerned within 28 days of the service of the Notice to Owner/postal Penalty Charge Notice, but did not receive a rejection notice
- I appealed against the Local Authority's decision to reject my representation within 28 days service of the rejection notice, but I had no response to my appeal the penalty charge has been paid in full
- The Penalty Charge has been paid in full
If one of the grounds applies, you may submit a Witness Statement to Northampton County Court. However, if a Witness Statement is made falsely, proceedings for contempt may be brought against you.
If you have grounds to file a Witness Statement, you will have to wait for registration at County Court to take place and an Order for Recovery to be sent to you. The County Court will not accept a Witness Statement prior to registration.
If you would like to discuss the process for submitting a Witness Statement, you can contact the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton County Court on: 0300 123 1059.
Grounds for Statutory Declaration
- I did not receive the Notice to Owner (Parking contravention) / Enforcement Notice (Bus Lane contravention) / Penalty Charge Notice (Moving Traffic contravention or Congestion Charging contravention)
- I made representations about the penalty charge to the local authority concerned within 28 days of service of the notice to owner/Enforcement Notice/Penalty Charge Notice and I did not receive a rejection notice.
- I appealed to the Independent Adjudicator against the local authority’s decision to reject my representation, within 28 days of the service of the rejection notice but I have had no response to my appeal.
Please note that, if applicable, you may file a Statutory Declaration before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the date upon which the county court order is served.
Note: The Statutory Declaration is not a chance to complain or challenge the reason the PCN was issued. Filing a false declaration knowingly and wilfully is a criminal offence under Section 5 of the Perjury Act 1911 and you may be imprisoned for up to two years or fined or both.
Letters received following warrant issue
If you fail to pay or file a Witness Statement/Statutory Declaration, we will apply to the County Court for a Warrant of Execution and Marston, or Newlyn will commence recovery action that may result in a certified Enforcement Agent attending your property to recover the debt.
Once a Warrant has been issued, Marston or Newlyn will write to you informing you that additional charges have been incurred and that, unless payment is made in final settlement, an Enforcement Agency will be allocated to collect the debt which will add significant additional charges.
The charges that can be applied by Enforcement Agencies are in line with applicable legislation and Enforcement Agencies are empowered to remove goods to the value of the outstanding debt.
If you receive a letter from Marston or Newlyn after the issue of a Warrant of Execution you should contact them immediately and arrange to settle the debt to prevent incurring additional costs.
To find out why Parking Services needs to collect and store personal data, how this is used and your rights to access your information, please refer to our privacy notice.
Worried about money?
Advice and support are available if you're struggling to make ends meet. Visit the links below for extra information:
Lewisham Council - Cost of living crisis
worryingaboutmoney.co.uk/lewisham