How to Dispute an Infringement / Fine Notice
If you wish to deny the offence or explain why you committed the offence, you must contact Council in writing within 28 days from the infringement being issued.
If your explanation is not accepted, you will be sent a letter outlining these reasons. In the unlikely event that you do not receive a response by the payment due date, feel free to contact Council’s monitoring & compliance team by telephone to establish how your appeal is progressing. The telephone number is 07 306 9009, 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
If Council has written to you explaining that they did not accept your explanation, these options are available to you:
- Pay the infringement fee without any additional charges.
- Write to Council and ask that the case be dealt with in court by way of written submission. This means you do not appear in court, and this option is only available to you if you plead guilty but feel you have a good reason that may excuse you.
- Write to Council asking for a court hearing and you plead not guilty. You will be required to appear before the Community Magistrates who will hear evidence given by the Council’s witnesses and then evidence from you. The evidence will be considered and a decision made regarding the charge(s).
If you plead guilty (option 2 above) or are found guilty (option 3 above) of the charge, the court will order you to pay the fine and any other costs ordered by the court.
You may choose to have the matter heard in Court.
If the matter is not settled or payment received within 28 days, a reminder notice will be sent to the registered owner of the vehicle.
If, after another 28 days, the matter still has not been settled, the issuing authority will lodge the matter with the Court as an unpaid infringement fee. Additional costs will be added to the original fine.