What is an Out of Time Witness Statement?

It is really worrying the number of enquiries that we receive daily from motorists who have been informed that an Out of Time Witness Statement or Statutory Declaration that they had submitted to the Traffic Enforcement Centre had been rejected. Despite the frequent advice given by us on this page and this one, motorists continue to complete Out of Time Witness Statements (forms TE7 & TE9 or Out of Time Statutory Declaration (formsPE2 & PE3) without taking any advice beforehand and more importantly; without even knowing….what is an Out of Time Witness Statement? Hopefully this page will assist.

An Out of Time Witness Statement (forms TE7 and TE9 or PE2 and PE3) is a witness statement…..that is sent LATE. 

A Witness Statement is a formal request to have the debt registration (and bailiff fees) CANCELLED because something had gone wrong at an earlier stage (such as; notices being sent to a wrong address/previous address or even that an appeal against the ticket had been made but no response received).

What is the difference between forms TE7 and TE9 and forms PE2 and PE3)?

TE7 and TE9 forms are referred to as Out of Time Witness Statements whereas forms PE2 and PE3 are referred to as Out of Time Statutory Declarations. Forms TE7 and TE9 do not require you to  physically sign the forms (you will merely need to type your name in the relevance space). On the other hand, Out of Time Statutory Declaration forms (PE2 and PE3) require your signature to be witnesses (by either the County Court or at any firm of solicitors). 

The difference in forms is entirely dependant on the type of contravention. For example; a Dart Charge or any CAZ PCN will always require forms TE7 and TE9. An unpaid ULEZ or Congestion Charge PCN issued by Transport for London or a PCN issued by any London authority for a bus lane offence always require forms PE2 and PE3 to be submitted

What does debt registration of the PCN mean?

If a Penalty Charge notice remains unpaid, the council will apply to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) to ‘register the debt’. This would be the first step in allowing the  debt to be recovered by a bailiff/ enforcement agent. A £10 ‘debt registration’ fee is charge at this stage. 

The Order for Recovery is the formal document that allows the motorist to request that the ‘debt registration’ be cancelled as something had gone wrong at an earlier stage. In other words, to rectify a mistake. For example;

The PCN may have been sent to a previous address.

The PCN may have been sent to a vehicle hire or finance company.

The motorist had appealed the PCN at an earlier stage and had not received a response from the council

The motorist may have been away from the registered address when the PCN had been issued and therefore, denied the opportunity to appeal the PCN or to make payment at the earlier discounted rate.

Attached to The Order for Recovery will be either a witness statement (TE9 or statutory declaration (PE3) Depending on the type of contravention, the motorist has just 21 days to submit either of these two forms to the Traffic Enforcement Centre. To ensure that it is received within that time frame, it should be always be sent by email. 

As long as the Witness Statement is sent within 21 days, the debt registration will automatically be cancelled and the local authority, Dart Charge, TfL etc will ‘rewind’ the procedure and issue a fresh Penalty Charge Notice. You will then be able to appeal the charge or pay at the earlier discounted rate.

I only became aware of the Penalty when I was contact by a bailiff. Can I still submit a Witness Statement? 

You certainly can…..however, because the 21 day period would have EXPIRED, an additional form (TE9 or PE2) must also be sent to the Traffic Enforcement Centre to request PERMISSION to allow you to submit your  Witness Statement LATE (i.e.; Out of Time)….hence the name of the forms.

Will my debt be automatically cancelled if I file an Out of Time witness statement.

Because the time period to file a Witness Statement has expired…..the debt will NOT automatically be cancelled.  Instead, the local authority (TfL, Dart Charge , Merseyflow etc) are given the opportunity to decide whether or not they are willing to give PERMISSION to allow you to file your witness statement LATE. In reaching their decision, the council must rely upon the information provided by the motorist in the ‘reason’ section on the PE2 or TE7. A word of warning….it will not be sufficient to merely state that you had moved address and this is the mistake that the vast majority of motorists make. And this is the reason why motorists should seek advice BEFORE completing these applications.

Commentary from Bailiff Advice Online

For almost 15 years, Bailiff Advice Online has been assisting motorists with drafting Out of Time witness statements. Because of our vast experience, we know what information needs to be provided on the forms in order to improve the chance of the application being accepted and the debt (and bailiff fees being cancelled. 

We are proud of the fact that a high percentage of applications we assist with are accepted.  position.  If you require our assistance you can email a question to us in confidence using our online Enquiry Form. Alternatively, you can contact our free helpline. Details are on our Contact page.