3,400 parking tickets cancelled (From Harrow Times)

3,400 parking tickets cancelled

5:10pm Wednesday 22nd October 2008 in

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THOUSANDS of people will not have to pay parking fines due to flaws in the wording on tickets.

Harrow Council was forced to cancel around 3,400 unpaid penalties issued to people caught parking illegally on CCTV after it lost an appeal in September.

The error, which is likely to cost around £95,000, crept in after changes to the format of tickets were introduced on April 1 and the now void fines were all between that date and October 13.

But the 9,380 people who paid their charge on time will get no money back because the authority’s legal advisors say coughing up is an admission of guilt.

Councillor Susan Hall said: "In retrospect the wording on this specific ticket wasn't as clear as it could have been.

“We've taken fresh legal advice to ensure the new parking notice for parking offences captured on CCTV is absolutely correct.

"It's important to remember that this is an issue about the technical wording on a ticket, not about the actual offences these notices were issued for.”

The appeal was accepted on September 9 but council workers did not initially pick up the significance of the parking adjudicator’s decision.

It was not until October 13 that officers changed the wording on tickets issued to people caught parking illegally on CCTV.

Edward Houghton, the parking adjudicator, accepted the appeal because the tickets did not tell motorists how to access CCTV evidence of the alleged crime.

They also did not say drivers need “compelling reasons” to challenge the fine.

Anyone who has problems with a ticket can contact the council’s parking services department on 0208 424 1275 or visit www.harrow.gov.uk.

Have you been snared by a CCTV camera? Let us know by posting a comment below.