Thousands of UK drivers wrongly hit with fines over six years owed £300k cash
Thousands of drivers are being offered refunds after a local council confirmed road users had been unfairly hit with parking fines.
Motorists have been unfairly charged parking tickets, with a local council offering to refund the cash. Elmbridge Borough Council (EBC) has confirmed that drivers had been issued incorrect fines across car parks in Surrey, with the problem starting as far back as six years ago.
It is understood that over 9,000 road users have been awarded invalid fines, with UK motorists paying over £300,000 paid in incorrect fees. According to EBC, motorists may have been incorrectly issued fines if they stopped in car parks across Esher, Cobham, Weybridge and Walton-on-Thames.
The majority of the false fines were issued between 8am and 9am, or between 6pm and 7pm since January 6, 2020, more than six years ago. Meanwhile, incorrect penalties may have been handed out at car parks on any Sunday since April 24. 2022.
EBC said: “Some parking fines (also known as Penalty Charge Notices or PCNs) were issued incorrectly due to a procedural error. If you paid a parking fine in one of our council car parks, you may be able to claim a refund. We are sorry for this mistake and want to make it quick and simple for you to get your money back.”
The council has stressed that road users can check whether they affected by inputting their registration number into their online application form. The system will then automatically check whether the vehicle has received a parking fine in error and direct road users towards making an appeal.
Motorists will need to provide their name, contact details, vehicle registration number and proof they paid the parking fine to process a claim.
EBC stressed that they aim to pay all successful claims within two weeks of receiving a valid application. The council also confirmed that road users can still apply for a refund even if they no longer own the vehicle that was affected.
It is believed that the issue was first identified during a recent update of the parking terms and conditions.
Dawn Crewe, Strategic Diector at Elmbridge Borough Council issued a formal apology to any impacted customers.
She said: “I am very sorry that a procedural error has led to parking fines being issued incorrectly in some of our car parks. I understand this will be frustrating for those affected, and I want to reassure residents and visitors that we are doing everything we can to put this right.
"The refund process will be kept as straightforward as possible, with refunds issued within 2 weeks of successful application, and we will make sure the scheme is widely publicised so that everyone who may be affected is aware.”
