What happens if I get a fine or PCN?
In most cases, Octopus Electric Vehicles is the registered owner of the car, so all fines and PCNs from local authorities, police and private companies are sent to us.
Most of the time we’ll transfer them to you, giving you as much control over charges as possible so you can either dispute or pay the fines. Sometimes this isn’t possible, so we’ll pay the fine and invoice you later.
What happens when we transfer liability to you?
We’ll email you to let you know if we’ve received a fine for the car. In most cases this will be directly to the driver, but in some cases (such as business contract hire) this may be the company.
We’ll pass your details to whoever issued the fine to transfer it to you. It usually takes 2-4 weeks for the fine to be transferred.
Most fines need to be paid within 14 days to prevent an increase, but once liability is transferred, the 14 days will reset.
If liability is transferred, it’s in your hands, either dispute or pay the fine.
What happens when we can’t transfer liability to you?
Some issuing authorities do not accept transfers of liability under certain circumstances. If we are unable to transfer liability to a driver and we are obliged to pay the fine as the registered keeper we will do so to prevent it from increasing. If this is the case we will notify you by email.
We’ll invoice you for the cost of the fine the following month with a VAT admin fee.
Appealing fines
How to appeal a fine
If you wish to appeal a fine that has been transferred to you, you must appeal directly with the issuing authority, as OEV was not the driver of the vehicle.
OEV cannot dispute or appeal fines on the driver's behalf. You must submit your own appeal directly. If you need support with appealing a fine please get in touch and we’ll do our best to help.
How does the appeal process work?
The process for appealing a fine will be different depending on the issuing authority. You’ll find everything you need to appeal the fine in the notification email we send when liability is transferred, including the PCN reference number and the issuing authorities contact details.
Can I appeal a fine that OEV has already paid?
In some cases, OEV is unable to transfer liability for a PCN and is therefore required to pay it as the registered keeper. But you can still submit an appeal by following the process outlined on the original PCN.
However, in these cases, you may not be able to use an online portal or website to appeal. Instead, you may need to submit your appeal in writing by email or post, including the Third Party Authorisation letter provided in the email notification you received.
If the appeal is successful, you will be credited the full amount of the fine.