Council to refund more than £350,000 after thousands of motorists incorrectly issued with parking penalties

Reading Council has apologised after finding that a total of 6,136 penalty charge notices were incorrectly issued to motorists over an 11-year period due to “errors” with a number of Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) in the borough.

The council said that a parking investigation had revealed five TRO areas where motorists were incorrectly issued with penalty charge notices. Errors were also found on a further four, but the council said these “did not impact motorists in the same way”. The total of value of fines issued under the defective TROs is estimated to be £357,000.

TROs are legal orders made under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, which provide the legal backing for the enforcement of road and traffic management schemes such as speed limits, vehicle restrictions and parking controls.

The mistakes with the TROs were first spotted by the council after a staff member reported a defect on the East Reading Red Route earlier this year.

The errors included some experimental TRO's expiring and not being made permanent, and some TRO's not being sealed and made in order to legally come into operation. Further details can be seen on the council's website here.

The authority has encouraged drivers who believe they have been incorrectly issued with a penalty charge notice to claim reimbursement by visiting the council’s website from 16 October.

It said: “For those motorists that have been subject incorrectly to a debt recovery process, the Council will contact individuals directly informing them that they are eligible for repayments with interest and advising how the repayment will be made.”

The council said a report seeking approval for statutory consultation to correct all nine TRO areas will be presented to Council next week.

Jackie Yates, Chief Executive of Reading Borough Council, said: “I sincerely apologise to all motorists and residents who have been affected by these errors and urge them to visit the Council’s website so that we can reimburse them.

“We have made the reimbursement process as easy as possible for people who have been wrongly issued with penalty charge notices, whilst ensuring we have appropriate verification checks in place.

“Parking enforcement action was suspended as soon as the Council became aware of the specific TRO issues and further action is being taken to ensure that the circumstances which led to this situation don't happen again.

“On behalf of the council, I sincerely apologise to motorists for the distress and inconvenience caused.”

Lottie Winson