Only 1% of council's incorrect parking fines settled

Only 1% of thousands of incorrectly issued parking fines by a council were refunded in the first month after it admitted the error.

Reading Borough Council admitted in October it incorrectly issued 6,300 penalty charge notices (PCNs) along red routes and parking zones between 2013 and 2024.

Motorists who paid fines relating to the areas affected have been able to claim refunds, with interest.

The council initially predicted the refunds would cost about £360,000 but it accepted 73 claims and rejected another 120 last month.

The areas affected by the errors across different times are:

• Parts of Kings Road and Wokingham Road, between January 2018 and March 2024
• Waldeck Street and Swainstone Road permit parking schemes, between March 2016 and June 2024
• Red Route West, between Tilehurst and West Reading, for a seven-day period in May 2018
• Southcote verge and footway parking ban area, between August 2015 and June 2024
• Tilehurst and Kentwood verge and footway parking ban area, between November 2013 and June 2024.

John Ennis, Labour councillor and lead for transport, said: “A mistake has been made, we are sorry that happened, and we are doing as much as we can possible to ensure that those who were wrongly issued with a penalty notice will be able to get their money back.

“We would recommend anyone out there who may have got a ticket in these areas to make a claim to get the money back."

Councillor Rob White, who represents the Green Party and is the council’s leader of the opposition, said: “The bottom line is that the council has broken the law and needs to put this right."

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