After losing two recent appeals to the independent parking adjudicator, Canterbury City Council is set to repay around £10,000 in parking fines where a valid ticket may have been flipped upside down.
From February this year the council changed its policy from considering the individual circumstances of those who appealed a parking charge notice (PCN) where their ticket was flipped over, to a blanket policy of not allowing any appeals.
This was deemed unlawful by a tribunal and the council is now inviting any motorist who appealed and lost on the matter of a PCN for a flipped over ticket since 1 February 2015, to get in contact by 31 December 2015 to have their case reconsidered.
In a statement the council said it has 'reconsidered its approach to these matters' and 'decided that it is incorrect to have a blanket approach to PCN appeals and that all cases should be considered on their individual merits'.
Assistant director of direct services, Larissa Reed, said: 'When the independent adjudicator rules against us, we always look at the judgement to see whether we should make any changes to our procedures. On this occasion, we accept we were wrong to change how we handle appeals for flipped over PCNs and have now reverted to our former approach.
'From now on, anybody who had a ticket that flipped over but that was valid at the time the PCN was issued should appeal to us. They are likely to have their fine cancelled if it was the first time it happened.'
Those seeking a refund should write to Business Support Parking Appeals, Direct Services, Canterbury City Council, Military Road, Canterbury, CT1 1YW, or email parking.enforcement@canterbury.gov.uk providing a name and address and the PCN number or vehicle registration that the PCN relates to.
