LGO calls for fairer parking fines

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has published a report calling on councils in England to do more to ensure parking fines are ‘fair to all’.

Fairer Fines found that some people were being treated ‘unfairly’ and may be paying fines ‘unnecessarily’. It highlighted that local authorities issued around 10 million parking, bus lane and moving traffic tickets a year – officially known as penalty charge notices (PCNs).

Currently, motorists in England have a statutory right of appeal to an independent parking adjudicator: London Tribunals or The Traffic Penalty Tribunal in the rest of the country.

However, the LGO’s report outlined a number of problems with the way some fines were handled including councils not telling people of their appeal rights and not being available to discuss issues people have with the penalty notice.

The Ombudsman also discovered councils did not always properly consider ‘informal challenges’ to parking penalties, where motorists can appeal against a parking ticket left on a vehicle within 28 days.

Michael King, Local Government Ombudsman, said: “Local authorities need to ensure parking enforcement is fair for all. We investigate complaints where people are aggrieved about how they have been treated, and we’ve found the council to be at fault.

“To help build trust between local authorities and motorists, authorities should provide clear and transparent information, follow correct guidance and listen properly to legitimate concerns.

“If motorists genuinely feel a parking ticket they’ve received is unfair, they should be aware that they have a legal right to appeal to an independent parking tribunal and the council should not reject valid concerns out of hand.”