Demand grows for Southwark council to refund millions in ‘unfair’ motorist fines after ‘incompetent staff’ error
- Southwark Council has raised more than £2.6 million in five years by issuing PCNs
- However, an error in the wording means that all tickets are ‘legally invalid’
Demand is growing for a Labor council to refund millions of pounds to motorists after ‘incompetent staff’ made mistakes with ‘unfair’ fines.
Southwark Council has raised more than £2.6 million in five years by issuing 43,300 fines to motorists who strayed into the borough’s bus lanes.
However, it has now emerged that an error in the wording on the penalty notices (PCNs) means that all tickets issued are ‘legally void’.
Phillip Morgan, who discovered the incorrect wording, said motorists were a “soft target” for councils looking to raise money.
Demands are growing for a Labor council to pay back millions of pounds to motorists after ‘incompetent staff’ made mistakes over ‘unfair’ fines
Since then, 85 of England’s 152 motorway authorities have been given the option to impose fines of up to £70 for such offences. Stock image of car driving on a bus lane (stock)
He said: ‘I am deeply concerned about the incompetence of the staff employed London municipal parking departments.
“Their shortcomings range from the inability to copy and paste mandatory information from the law to the inability to fairly and correctly assess representations and appeals from motorists, who to me are soft targets used to generate revenue.”
The law states that the 28-day period to challenge a PCN must start from ‘the date of notification’ of the fine.
However, the municipality incorrectly stated on its tickets that the one-month period for legal challenges started from ‘the date the fine was served’.
In ruling to appeal against a £130 fine, the judge said: ‘The fine does not comply with the statutory provisions. This amounts to a procedural error and I therefore allow the appeal.”
Southwark Council said: ‘Southwark Council issues penalty notices for road traffic offenses in the interests of public safety for all road users. They are issued within a legal and statutory framework, which includes the right of appeal. Revenue from fines goes toward road improvements and projects to make streets safer and more accessible.
‘In February 2024, we updated the wording of our PCNs to fully comply with the requirements of the London Local Authorities Act 1996, reducing the time drivers have to consider the notice or pay the fine. Our original wording specified that drivers had time from the time the notice was received, rather than from the time it was sent, giving them more time in the process.”
In ruling to appeal against a £130 fine, the judge said: ‘The fine does not comply with the statutory provisions. This amounts to a procedural error and I therefore allow the appeal’ (file photo)
‘We have no plans to cancel any PCNs that have not been successfully appealed within the statutory parking appeals process.’
Laws passed in May 2022 allowed councils to use special powers, previously reserved for police, to fine drivers for ‘moving traffic offences’.
Since then, 85 of England’s 152 motorway authorities have been given the ability to issue fines of up to £70 for entering yellow boxes, making illegal U-turns or traveling in bus lanes.
The AA also suggested that ‘cash-strapped councils’ will use this as ‘a new revenue stream’.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said: ‘Allowing local authorities to fine drivers for yellow box junction violations has undoubtedly opened up a new revenue stream for cash-strapped councils. Some drivers may find this to be yet another example of its use as a wallet on wheels.’
He added: ‘The vast majority of drivers do not break the rules on purpose. That is why we have always advocated that first-time offenders should receive a warning letter and that a ‘fine threshold’ should be set so that councils investigate and improve schemes that earn huge amounts of money.’
In 2022, MailOnline tracked down the worst bus lane in Britain – in Clapham Park Road, Lambeth, South London – which raised £2 million in just one year.
At one point this averaged £5,300 a day as drivers accidentally turned left into a bus lane near Clapham Common.
