The Witness Statement is a legal declaration to say that you did not receive either a Notice to Owner, a Notice of Rejection from the council, a Notice of Refusal from the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, or that you have paid the penalty charge in full.
The Witness Statement form is sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle with the Order for Recovery if a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) has been registered as a debt at the Traffic Enforcement Centre.
If you choose to complete a Witness Statement, it should be sent to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (not to the council). The date by which the Witness Statement should be submitted is provided on the Order for Recovery. Details of where to send the statement will be provided on the form.
If you complete a Witness Statement it does not mean that the PCN is cancelled.
It is a criminal offence to make a false Witness Statement and proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against you if you make a false statement without an honest belief in its truth.
Grounds for Making a Witness Statement
There are four grounds on which a Witness Statement may be made:
I did not receive the Notice to Owner – if you did not receive a Notice to Owner, you will not have had an opportunity to make formal representations against the issue of the PCN. If a Witness Statement is made on this ground and accepted by the Traffic Enforcement Centre, we will revert the case back to a stage where a new Notice to Owner may be served. This will then give you the opportunity to make a formal representation or pay the charge.
I made representations about the penalty charge but did not receive a rejection notice – if you made representations after receiving the Notice to Owner but you did not receive our Notice of Rejection of Representations, you will not have had an opportunity to appeal to the independent adjudicator. If a Witness Statement is made on this ground and accepted by the Traffic Enforcement Centre, we may refer the case to the independent adjudicator as a formal appeal. Liability for the penalty charge will then be decided by an adjudicator.
I appealed to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal but have had no response to my appeal – if you made a formal appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal but did not receive notification of the outcome, you may not have had the opportunity to pay the full penalty charge before it increased by 50% on issue of a Charge Certificate. If a Witness Statement is made on this ground and accepted by the Traffic Enforcement Centre, the case will be referred to the adjudicator. Liability for the penalty charge will then be decided by an adjudicator.
I paid the PCN in full – you must provide details of the date payment was made, the method of payment i.e. cash, cheque, debit/credit card and who the payment was made to. You may be asked to provide proof of payment on request. If a Witness Statement is made on this ground and accepted by the Traffic Enforcement Centre and the council disputes the statement, the case will be referred to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for a decision to be made by an adjudicator.
Other Options
If no payment is received and no Witness Statement is made by the date specified on the Order for Recovery, we can request authority from TEC to use a certified bailiff to recover the outstanding debt arising from the PCN. This is done with a legal document called a Warrant of Execution. Further information can be found on the enforcement agents page.