An Order for the Recovery of Unpaid Penalty Charge will not be issued until a penalty charge notice (PCN) has passed through the previous stages:
Following the issue of the Charge Certificate, after 21 days we may register the charge with theTraffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) at Northampton County Court, if the PCN is still outstanding.
The TEC deals with the registration of debts from England and Wales for all unpaid PCNs. See Her Majesty's Courts Service website for more details.
We have 15 days from the date that the TEC send confirmation that we may proceed to recover the charge, to prepare and serve the following forms:
- Order for the Recovery of Unpaid Penalty Charge
- Witness Statement
Once you have received an Order for Recovery you can:
- pay the outstanding amount, which will consist of the penalty charge and a court registration fee of £8, within 21 days
- complete the Witness Statement and return it to the TEC
Use of enforcement agents
After the service of the Order for Recovery, we can request authority from the TEC to use a certificated enforcement agent to recover the outstanding penalty charge if:
- the outstanding amount has not been paid after 21 days
- a Witness Statement has not been filed after 21 days
Service is deemed to have been made three days after posting of the Order for Recovery.
This is done with a legal document called a Warrant of Distress. The enforcement agent will then send out a request for payment to the person whose name is on the warrant.
If no payment is made, the enforcement agent can remove the vehicle or goods to recover the unpaid charge.
The outstanding amount will also now include the enforcement agent's additional costs.
Once a PCN is being dealt with by enforcement agents, you will need to deal directly with those agents and we will not be able to accept any payment on their behalf.