Out of Time Witness Statement

If you have received a text message, letter or visit from a bailiff/enforcement agent in relation to a Penalty Charge Notice, Congestion Charge, Dart Charge or Merseyflow penalty that you had been unaware of, it will usually be because all correspondence had been sent to a previous address. If so, legislation is in place to protect you. You can request that the debt (including bailiff fees) be cancelled by submitting either an Out of Time witness statement (TE7 and TE9) or statutory declaration (PE2 and PE3) to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC). All bailiff enforcement will be suspended while a decision is being made. If accepted, a new Penalty Charge notice will be issued.

What is an Out of Time witness statement?

Many times, motorists are advised to complete forms TE7 and TE9 (or PE2 and PE3) when they speak with the local authority (Dart Charge, Merseyflow etc) following a letter or visit from a bailiff regarding a penalty that they had been unaware of. Sadly, the motorist is very often given the impression that completing the forms will result in a new penalty charge being issued. This is simply NOT TRUE and it is no wonder that over 65% of these applications are currently REJECTED.

Any motorist considering submitting such application should not do so without knowing what an Out of Time Witness Statement is. We have therefore introduced this new page to our website.

Why was correspondence sent to my previous address?

Usually because the V5C/Log Book had not been updated at DVLA following a change of address. If a road traffic contravention, congestion charge, Dart Charge or Merseyflow toll is not paid, the charging authority will make a request to DVLA for the name and address of the registered keeper. A Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) will be sent to that person at the address held by DVLA. Sadly, since the scrapping of paper tax discs, many people simply forget to update their V5C/Log Book when they move address. This is very common indeed.

I did not update my V5C (Log Book) when I moved, can I still file a late Witness Statement?

You certainly can and in fact; the vast majority of enquiries that we receive are from motorists who had forgotten to update their address details on their Log Book with DVLA when they moved house.

Correspondence had been sent to the vehicle hire or finance company

Another very common situation and in particular; with a Dart Charge or Merseyflow penalty where the motorist may have used the Dartford Crossing or Mersey Gateway Bridge in a hire vehicle. If so, the Penalty Charge Notice would be sent to the hire company. They would respond to request that liability be transferred to the hirer and would rely upon the name and address provided at the time of hire. Another problem that we see quite often is where the V5C is held by the finance company. If you do move address, you should also make sure that you notify your finance company.

I updated my driving licence when I moved so DVLA were aware of my address?

Not so I’m afraid. A driving licence is merely confirmation that you have passed your driving test. A V5C (Log Book) on the other hand, is the registration certificate for a particular vehicle. We receive an astonishing number of enquiries from the public regarding correspondence going to a previous address. Of interest, is that in the vast majority of cases, when a motorist moves address, he remembers to update his driving licence….but forgets to update the V5C (Log Book) !!

Grounds for completing an Out of Time witness statement (TE7 and TE9)

An Out of Time Witness Statement/Statutory Declaration or late appeal can be submitted on one of four grounds. The most common are that:

You did not receive the Penalty Charge Notice (usually because all notices had been sent to a previous address).
You appealed the PCN to the council (or Dart Charge) within 28 days but did not receive a Notice of Rejection.

Bailiff is seeking payment for a Dart Charge that I didn’t know about.

Because of the significant number of Dart Charge enquiries that we receive, we have a separate page dedicated to a Dart Charge Out of Time witness statement (or late appeal) here.

Bailiff is seeking payment for a Merseyflow toll that I didn’t know about.

If a warrant has been issued by Merseyflow, it will be enforced by Marston Holdings. We have a separate page dedicated to a Merseyflow Out of Time witness statement (or late appeal) here.

What will happen when I submit my Out of Time Witness Statement?

The Traffic Enforcement Centre will acknowledge receipt of your forms and will notify the council, Transport for London or Highways England (in the case of a Dart Charge) or Merseyflow that they must inform their relevant bailiff company to suspend enforcement for a few weeks while a decision is reached as to whether or not to accept your application and cancel the debt. As long as the forms are submitted to the Traffic Enforcement Centre by email before 4pm, all bailiff enforcement will be placed ‘on hold’ by midday the following working day.

How will I know if my Out of Time witness statement (late appeal) has been accepted.

You will receive a decision from the Traffic Enforcement Centre approx 4 weeks after submitting your forms. If accepted, the letter will advise you that the Order for Recovery has been revoked. You should receive a new Penalty Charge Notice from the council (or Dart Charge etc) a short while after. The following page from our website should assist you.

What happens if my Out of Time witness statement (late appeal) is refused?

You will receive a letter from the Traffic Enforcement Centre advising that permission had not been granted to allow you to file your witness statement late (out of time). If so, you would need to follow the advice given on the following page from our website.

Help with completing Out of Time Witness Statement forms (TE7 and TE9 or PE2 and PE3)

At Bailiff Advice Online we have been assisting motorists with drafting Out of Time witness statements (TE7 and TE9) or statutory declarations (PE2 and PE3) for over 12 years. It stands to reason that we significant experience of knowing what information needs to be provided on the forms in order to improve the chance of the application being accepted and the debt cancelled. Whilst we can never guarantee that an application is accepted, we are very proud of the fact that around 95% of Out of Time witness statements drafted by us are accepted.

If you require our assistance, please see below or email us using our Enquiry Form. We charge a fee of £45 for this service. Additional applications are substantially discounted.

Traffic Enforcement Centre FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions)

To answer the many questions that we receive from motorists, we have recently introduced this new Traffic Enforcement Centre FAQ page to our website. It is a very popular page !!

Commentary from Bailiff Advice Online

If you require our assistance with drafting your Out of Time witness statement/late appeal, you can email a question to us in confidence using our online Enquiry Form. Alternatively, you can contact our free Bailiff Support Line.

Lastly, our Simplified Guide to the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 can be read here.