Thousands of drivers refunded £120 after penalty notice error – are you owed cash?

Thousands of drivers have been refunded after being illegally fined

About 4,700 motorists in Sheffield were mistakenly fined for a technical fault.

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Sheffield City Council said those affected drove into a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) from Sunday March 26 to Thursday April 6 with one additional case on April 12.

The error occurred at the third-party vendor level when the clocks switched from Greenwich Mean Time to UK Summer Time.

That means they were given the wrong timestamp, meaning they were charged £120.

If the fine is paid within 14 days it will be reduced to £60.

Sheffield City Council is currently in the process of refunding all those who have paid fines.

Council is sending letters to all affected motorists, so keep an eye out for your post.

If you have already paid the penalty, the board will withhold the CAZ fee and refund the outstanding amount.

Drivers of smaller vehicles that do not meet emissions standards will be charged £10 a day for entering the Clean Air Zone.

And those with larger vehicles such as buses, coaches, vans and HGVS are also not compliant paying £50 per day.

For example, if you paid £120 and have a smaller car and have driven in the area once, you will be refunded £140.

If you have any unpaid penalty notices that need to be paid, you will receive a new notice but will be given the option to pay only the CAZ fee – you must pay within 13 days

Drivers who do not accept an offer to pay only a portion of the cost will be charged the full amount of the fine.

Councilor Joe Otten, chair of the Streetscape and Garbage Commission, said: “We are very disappointed to learn of this technical fault and so are staff from our third party suppliers. as the Council worked to fix the problem.

“We would like to take this opportunity to apologize to all those affected and for the inconvenience associated with this matter.”

How to appeal a parking ticket

Check the type of parking ticket you get

Official agencies and private companies have different complaints procedures, so it’s important to find out what problem you’re dealing with.

The official ticket is called a Penalty Notice, Overcharge Notice or Fixed Penalty Notice, and you can find the name of the issuing agency on the ticket.

All other tickets are issued by private companies.

act quickly

If you don’t want to miss out on the 50% off sale, then you must act fast as the sale will be frozen.

The agreement will still apply if you file an appeal within 14 days of receiving the ticket.

Find evidence

To make your case stronger, you should have some evidence to support your claim.

The easiest way to prove that no parking rules were violated is to provide photographic or CCTV evidence.

If that’s not possible in your situation, it would be helpful to get some witness statements.

When your unauthorized parking is excused due to a medical condition or emergency, you should get a doctor’s note.

Make the right kind of complaint

There are three types of appeals that you can file: informal, formal, and one with an independent judge.

Informal appeals only apply to Penalty Charge Notices left on the windshield.

All you have to do is send your appeal to the local authority and attach any evidence you have.

If the informal appeal is unsuccessful or if the fine is mailed, you will have to go through a formal appeal process, in which you need to submit a form if you want to have your penalty rescinded.

If the dispute also fails at the formal stage, you can send your appeal to a private magistrate free of charge. You can choose to participate in an individual hearing or complete the process by email, phone, or post.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

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