Get help with a PCN

You should never ignore a Penalty Charge Notice. This guide is intended to provide you with the information you need to pay or challenge your Penalty Charge Notice.

If you have concerns about making payment or challenging your Penalty Charge Notice that are not answered on this page, please contact the Parking Office on 01237 428981 during office hours. You should be aware that decisions to cancel Penalty Charge Notices are never made over the telephone. The Parking Office may be contacted via telephone 9.00am - 4.00pm Monday-Friday.

The council is a member of the Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London (PATROL) Adjudication Joint Committee.  The Joint Committee publishes an Annual Statement of Accounts which is subject to External Audit.

Why Penalty Charge Notices are issued

A Penalty Charge Notice may be issued for a number of reasons for example:

• No valid ticket displayed
• Expired Parking Ticket/Permit
• Unauthorised use of a disabled bay
• Unauthorised use of a reserved bay
• Failure to park within a marked bay
• Expired RingGo payments

Whatever the reason is for the issue of a Penalty Charge Notice, it will be clearly stated on the ticket along with the make of the vehicle, the registration number, the parking place and the date and time of the contravention.

The tables below, provided by The Joint Committee of England and Wales for the civil enforcement of Parking And Traffic Regulations Outside London (PATROL) list all the parking contraventions that may be issued outside London. For further information about these contraventions and independent advice on the Penalty Charge Notice process please visit the PATROL website.

In Torridge £70.00 is payable for a Higher Level contravention (£35.00 if paid within 14 days) and £50.00 is payable for a Lower Level contravention (£25.00 if paid within 14 days).

* Or other specified time
** Or voucher
*** Sometimes applies during term time only
**** Or other number

View your Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) details online

Your PCN can be viewed online along with the details and supporting evidence. The page also has links to either pay or challenge your PCN directly. You will need to enter both your Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) number and your vehicle registration.

View my PCN

How to pay your Penalty Charge Notice

Online - For PCN's with a number starting with 'TC' only

You can pay your Penalty Charge Notice in 4 ways as explained below. Full payment details are also printed on the Penalty Charge Notice.

Pay a penalty charge notice starting 'TC'

You should follow the instructions on screen very carefully. This service should be available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. However, if you experience any problems, contact the Parking Office as a matter of urgency on 01237 428891 during office hours (9am to 4pm).

By Telephone

You can make credit or debit card payments by phoning the Parking Office on 01237 428981 during office hours (9am to 4pm).

You can also make credit or debit card payments automatically by using our touch-tone telephone service. This service can be accessed 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. To use this service please call 0300 7900 215.

There will not be a charge for credit card payments.

By Post

To pay by post, complete the payment slip at the bottom of your Penalty Charge Notice and attach it to a cheque payable to Torridge District Council.

If you do not have the payment slip please write your name, address and your Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) number (in the format TC00000000 ) on the back of the cheque.

Cheques should be sent to:

Torridge District Council, The Parking Office, Riverbank House, Bideford, Devon, EX39 2QG

Please allow 2 working days for 1st Class post and 5 working days for 2nd class post to be delivered to us.

Please do not send cash in the post.

Please note:

If your PCN number is not quoted your payment may not be correctly allocated to your fine.

Cheques that are post dated will not be accepted.

Sending a cheque with a challenge letter or to an address other than that given above may delay processing your payment.

At Our Office

Our cashiers are able to accept the following payment methods:

Cheque or Postal Order

Our offices opening hours are Monday to Friday, 9am - 1pm and 2pm - 4:30pm.

The cost of ignoring a Penalty Charge Notice

If you have received a Penalty Charge Notice, act now.

It is important that you read any correspondence you receive very carefully. If you need assistance at any stage of the process, please call the Parking Office on 01237 428981.

The table below shows how the Penalty Charge will increase if ignored, in accordance with the Traffic Management Act 2004.

How your personal details may be obtained and managed

The address details of the registered keeper of a vehicle will be requested from the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) if a Penalty Charge Notice is not paid within 28 days of its issue or if an informal challenge against a Penalty Charge Notice is unsuccessful.

Details obtained from the DVLA will only be used to issue a 'Notice to Owner' letter and collect outstanding monies.

Please note that details will not be obtained from the DVLA until after the payment period has elapsed (28 days after the date of issue of the Penalty Charge Notice).

Data Protection Statement

Torridge District Council will use any data collected through the issuing of an Off-Street PCN,for the enforcement of parking contraventions and other associated purposes.

This data may be disclosed to other enforcement agencies for the purposes of this enforcement. It may also be disclosed to other departments within the Council or external parties for related purposes or as required by law. All processing of this data will be in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2023.

How to challenge your Penalty Charge Notice

If you believe that your Penalty Charge Notice was wrongly issued and you want to challenge it you may notify us of your appeal via an online challenge.

To do this, select Challenge PCN which will open the online challenge process.

Alternatively, you should write to us at the address below:

Torridge District Council, The Parking Office, Riverbank House, Bideford, Devon, EX39 2QG

You will need to to quote the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) number (in the format TC00000000) and clearly state the reason why you think the notice was issued incorrectly.

Please ensure you provide your name and your full postal address or email address. We regret that we are not able to respond to informal challenges where these details are not provided.

You may also wish to attach supporting documentation.

All enquiries and challenges must be made in writing, either on paper or digital. Please be aware that you will not receive confirmation of a challenge being received, but this can be checked by calling the office on (01237) 428981 during office hours 09:00am-16:00pm. Once a challenge is received by this office a response will be made within 3 working days and sent via the same way that the challenge was received, either on paper or digital (email).

We would recommend that where possible, a challenge is made via the online form. 

How to respond to a Notice to Owner or other correspondence

If you wish to make representations then please do so by returning the Notice to Owner form filled out in full. Alternatively, you can select the 'Appeal' option via the 'View my PCN' link (see above). To do this you will need to have the NTO to enter required information.

If you have not responded to a Notice to Owner you you will receive a Charge Certificate or debt registration forms. Please read and follow the instructions on these carefully.

If you do not understand any correspondence you receive we will be happy to explain it to you if you telephone on (01237) 428981 during office hours 09:00am-16:00pm. You should be aware that decisions to cancel Penalty Charge Notices are never made over the telephone.

What to do if you have lost your Penalty Charge Notice

If you want to pay or challenge a Penalty Charge Notice  please contact the Parking Office for assistance by email at carparks@torridge.gov.uk or by telephone on 01237 428981 during office hours. You will be asked to provide your vehicle's registration number and/or as much information as possible.

Penalty Charge Notice Procedure

When you receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) you may either pay it or send us a challenge as outlined above.

If you decide to challenge the PCN we will consider your case and will send you a letter informing you of our decision. If your challenge is successful we will cancel your Notice. If your challenge is rejected then you will be given a further opportunity to pay at the discounted rate providing that we receive your payment within 14 days of the date of the rejection letter.

If the Penalty Charge Notice remains unpaid after 28 days (from date of issue of the Penalty Charge Notice) we will then send a Notice to Owner. Details on how the owner of the vehicle may make either formal representation, pay or appeal to an independent adjudicator will be included on this Notice.

After a further period of 28 days has elapsed and providing that the Penalty Charge Notice has not been  paid or cancelled or the owner has appealed to an independent adjudicator then the Council will increase the charge by 50% and send a Charge Certificate. If the outstanding balance is then paid within 14 days then the case will be closed.

However, if payment is not received then we will register the debt with the Traffic Enforcement Centre (Northampton County Court) where a court fee will also be applied to the outstanding balance and an order for recovery will be sent to the vehicle owner. If this is paid within 21 days then the case will be closed if not a warrant will be registered and bailiffs instructed to recover the debt.

The Council's approved policy on how we will deal with challenges and representations and a flowchart showing the path the Penalty Charge Notice will take once issued is available to view/download by clicking on the link below:

Penalty Charge Notice Flowchart (PDF, 179 KB)

Check whether your Penalty Charge Notice was issued by Torridge District Council

By looking at your Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) number you can tell at a glance whether it was issued by Torridge District Council. Your PCN number can be found on all correspondence regarding your PCN. You should quote it when making payment or corresponding with the Council regarding the PCN as it uniquely identifies the record. A PCN number consists of a two letter prefix followed by eight numbers e.g. TC00000000. When quoting your PCN number always remember to give the prefix.

If your PCN number does not begin with the prefixes 'TC', it was issued by another local authority. You will need to contact or pay the relevant Council or authority for the PCN; contact details may be found on the original PCN.

For quick reference the prefixes used by Councils in Devon are given below. For PCNs issued outside of Devon please see the original PCN.