Enforcement by Civil Enforcement
Officers 
Remote enforcement
Enforcement by police
Paying a ticket
Appealing against a parking ticket
Vehicle clamping and removal
General assistance
Traffic Management Act 2004
Enforcement methods
Civil enforcement
officers
The parking enforcement service is provided by the City's
contractors, Vinci Park UK, who employ uniformed civil
enforcement officers to patrol the City's streets on foot and by
bicycle. Each officer has been trained to a high standard and
will be able to answer your parking questions. Civil enforcement
officers are equipped with mobile computers to record offences and
to issue tickets. They also have still cameras to assist in
verifying that a ticket was correctly issued.
Civil enforcement officers are required to issue a ticket when
they observe a contravention. Once they have started issuing a
ticket they are not permitted to stop or abandon the issue. If you
believe a ticket has been issued incorrectly or there are special
circumstances, please refer to our appealing
against a parking ticket information below.
Neither the contractor nor individual officers are rewarded by
the number of tickets issued.
The training records of Civil Enforcement Officers are not held
by the City of London as Vinci Park UK, are responsible for
employing and training officers accordingly. It is worth stating
that the contract we hold is one on which the British Parking
Association model contract is based and is set against a basket of
quality indicators, for example, training requirements, the quality
of their work (clear pocket books, good photos, expedient data
entry, etc) and good attendance (meeting minimum daily attendance
levels). Even if we were to hold the training
records of the Civil Enforcement Officers we would consider them as
personal information belonging to the person about whom the
information relates. We would therefore look to use the
exemption at Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act to
withhold this information in the event of a request.
Civil Enforcement Officers adhere to two Codes of Practice which
have been agreed with London Councils for on street parking
enforcement and the use of CCTV. Both are available on the
London Councils website.
Download a copy of
London Councils' Civil Officers Enforcement
Handbook (5.78mb - large file)
Remote enforcement
Remote enforcement using closed circuit television (CCTV) and
mobile units is used for waiting, loading and traffic
contraventions to improve compliance with the restrictions across
the City. CCTV enables these restrictions to be enforced correctly
and even-handedly.
CCTV contraventions are the same as any PCN issued by an on-foot
civil enforcement officer except that the PCN will be sent to the
address of the registered vehicle keeper through the post.
The contraventions for which CCTV is being used have been
prioritised in order to concentrate on those contraventions that
cause the greatest impact on traffic flow or the greatest
inconvenience to other highway users. The contraventions
prioritised include:
- Standing on a pedestrian crossing or its zig-zags
- Standing on the footway
- Waiting or loading where a loading ban is in force (kerb
chevrons)
- Waiting or loading in a bus stop
- Waiting or loading by a non-disabled vehicle in a disabled
bay
- Waiting in a bay specifically designated for loading purposes
only
- ‘Double parking’
-
Traffic offences
Video recordings of
contraventions enforced by CCTV, are available to view in
accordance with the CCTV code of practice. Should you wish to
make an appointment to see the full footage of the contravention
then please contact the City of London Parking Ticket Office at:
City of London Parking Ticket Office, PO Box 270, Guildhall,
London, EC2P 2EJ, or by email on:
des-pto@cityoflondon.gov.uk
providing a daytime contact number, and we will arrange for an
appointment to view the recording at our contractors
premises. You can also arrange a viewing by telephoning 020
7332 3366.
There are signs warning motorists of the use of cameras for
parking enforcement at every entrance point to the City. These
signs comply with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General
Directions 2002.
Calibration and maintenance records of the cameras we use in CCTV
enforcement is not held by the City of London Parking Ticket
Office. The CCTV cameras used for the enforcement of
traffic contraventions are owned and maintained by the City of
London Police. The City of London Police allows us access to
this network under strict agreement terms, but as the cameras
owners they are responsible for any calibration and maintenance
necessary. However, the equipment we use received
certification from the Secretary of State in March 2009 and a
copy of the authorisation is held on their
website.
Police enforcement
The City of London Police may observe a
contravention which they consider should be enforced. In these
circumstances, the Police Officer will prepare a witness statement
which will be passed to the City of London for enforcement. A PCN
will then be issued to registered keeper of the vehicle.
Photographs of the vehicle commiiting the contravention will not be
available in these circumstances.
Paying a parking ticket
A penalty charge will increase the longer it remains unpaid. The
penalty charge is reduced by 50% if payment is received
within a specific discount period from the date the penalty
charge notice is served. After the discount period the
amount will revert to the full charge.
You may make payment
- online using a debit or credit
card
- by phone using a credit or debit card. Tel 0845 230 0845 (local
rate applies, ie this is not a premium rate line)
and please have your ticket number ready. This service is available
24 hours a day.
- by post to
City of London
PO Box 4561
Worthing
BN13 1XW
Cheques should be made payable to the Chamberlain of London and
you must write the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) number and the
vehicle registration mark on the reverse of the cheque. Please
note that a Penalty Charge is not paid until it has been received
by us so allow adequate time.
Appealing
against a parking ticket
If you believe a Penalty Charge Notice has been wrongly issued
or you have mitigating circumstances, there is a three stage appeal
process.
- You may initially dispute the PCN with us. We will
carefully investigate the circumstances surrounding the issue of
your PCN and either cancel your ticket or explain why it
cannot be cancelled.
- If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may make a
formal representation to us. We will reconsider your case.
- If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome you may appeal to
the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service an
independent tribunal.
Disputing a ticket
You may dispute a ticket:
- online
- by email to
DES-PTO@cityoflondon.gov.uk ,
please ensure you include your full postal address and the ticket
number
- by fax to 020 7332 3776
- by post to Parking Ticket Office, Department of Environmental
Services, City of London, PO Box 270, London, EC2P
2EJ
Whilst we are dealing with your challenge, the charge for the
ticket will not increase. If we reject your challenge and ask for
payment, you will be given further time to make payment before the
penalty increases.
We aim to respond to all challenges within 15 working days.
We may take longer during particularly busy periods or if we have
to make further enquiries.
Click here for further information about disputing a PCN.
Making a formal representation (with the exception
of Moving Traffic contraventions)
If we reject your challenge or if a ticket remains unpaid after
28 days, we will write to the owner or the keeper of the vehicle
giving details of how to make a formal representation to us. The
owner or keeper must wait until he or she receives a document known
as a Notice to Owner or Enforcement Notice. He or she may then make
a representation:
- online
- by fax to 020 7332 3776
- by post to Parking Ticket Office, Department of Environmental
Services, City of London PO Box 270, London, EC2P 2EJ
We will reconsider the case. Whilst we are dealing with your
representation, the charge for the ticket will not increase. If we
reject the challenge and ask for payment, further time will be
given to make payment before the penalty increases.
Making a formal representation for a Moving
Traffic contravention
The vehicle's owner may dispute a ticket within 28 days of the
date on which the PCN was served (delivered):
- online
- by fax to 020 7332 3776
- by post to Parking Ticket Office, Department of Environmental
Services, City of London PO Box 270, London, EC2P 2EJ
Whilst we are dealing with your challenge, the charge for the
ticket will not increase. If we reject your challenge you will be
issued with a Notice of Rejection and appeal form. You will be
given further time to make payment before the penalty
increases.
We aim to respond to all challenges within 15 working days.
We may take longer during particularly busy periods or if we have
to make enquiries of others.
Further information about disputing a PCN.
Appealing to the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service
If we reject the formal representation, we will send the
necessary forms to enable the owner or keeper to appeal
to the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service. Appeals
must be sent directly to the Appeals Service.
Vehicle clamping and
removal
The City of London operates a clamp and removal facility for
illegally parked vehicles and persistent evaders.
If your vehicle has been clamped, you should
contact the City of London Car Pound on 070 7332 3030 (see
operational hours below), to make payment by Credit Card/Debit
Card.
If your vehicle has been removed, you will need
to attend the Car Pound in person.
The Car Pound is open Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays)
between 7.00 am and 7.00 pm. The Car Pound is located at:
Crown Wharf
Bidder Street
Canning Town
London
E16 4ST
Download the
Car Pound Map (108kb)
Nearest station is Canning Town (National Rail, Jubilee line or
Docklands Light Railway). By bus use no 323 from Canning Town
Station or no 115 from Aldgate.
Vehicles can only be released to the owner (or authorised
driver). You will be required to produce at least two forms
of identification showing a current address. Please note that
payment by cheque will only be accepted to the value of an
accompanying cheque guarantee card, therefore, in some
circumstances an alternative method of payment may be required for
the outstanding balance (one cheque per transaction). Storage
fees may also apply.
If you are at all unsure of any aspect of this service you are
advised to telephone the Car Pound.
Vehicles may also be clamped or removed as a result of Transport
for London's congestion charging scheme. Visit the TfL website or
tel 0845 900 1234 for details. Drivers unsure of whether a vehicle
has been impounded may call the Transport for London (TfL) TRACE
line, tel 020 7747 4747. TfL hold details all of vehicles removed
within the London area.
General assistance
Click here for guidance on avoiding a parking ticket.
For information or assistance with on street parking please
contact the City of London Parking Helpline on 020 7332 3910 or
email
squaremileparking@vincipark.co.uk.
Traffic Management Act
2004
The Department for Transport has recently introduced legislation
which aims to provide a single set of rules for parking and traffic
enforcement throughout England and Wales. The first set of changes,
relating to parking enforcement by Civil Enforcement Officers and
CCTV, went live on 31 March 2008. The final changes, relating to
moving traffic enforcement, is planned to go live in the
foreseeable future.
As previously advertised on this site, differential parking
penalties were introduced in London on 1 July 2007 and these have
now been extended to the whole of England. Further information on
the changes and links to the legislation are available on
London Councils and the
Department for Transport's websites.
The majority of the changes relate to further requirements on
all Local Authorities to operate their systems in a fair,
consistent and transparent way and there are no substantial changes
to the parking regulations on street within London.
Compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998
The City of London is a registered Data Controller with the
Office of the Information Commissioner. This registration
includes the use of Personal Data for parking enforcement
(including CCTV). The full details of the registration can be
viewed on the register of data controllers on the Information
Commissioners website under the reference Z5996206 (City of
London). Purposes 9 and 11 relate specifically to Parking
enforcement:
http://www.ico.gov.uk/tools_and_resources/register_of_datacontrollers.aspx