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£55m unpaid parking fines written off by Westminster
Ruth Bloomfield11.05.09
Parking chiefs have been forced to write off more than £55million of fines in central London, it emerged today.
Westminster council has agreed to tear up almost £20million of penalty charges, for offences such as parking on double yellow lines imposed since 2007. It brings the amount forfeited since 2000 to £55.4million.
Many of the fines are thought to have been incurred by criminals driving cars with cloned or stolen number plates and foreign diplomats who routinely refuse to pay.
A council report shows 71 per cent of tickets are paid, and 11 per cent are cancelled on appeal or because of "mitigating circumstances".
The rest - almost one in five of all tickets issued - are left unpaid.
Westminster says that last year foreign diplomats clocked up £1.5million in unpaid fines, with more than 60 per cent of embassy-owned cars failing to pay for illegal parking. Foreign drivers, who the council could not trace, were responsible for £4.5million in unpaid tickets in the same year.
Now the council has decided "the continuing cost of recovery far outweighs the likely level of income that would actually be collected". Paul Watters, the AA's head of roads policy, said: "Westminster is the biggest parking authority in the land and has the biggest income, in excess of £400million annually, and therefore the biggest problems.
"The solution is to crack down on untaxed, unregistered cars. There is a problem with cloned numberplates and stolen cars, and that is a matter for the Government and the police.
"With diplomats we need to get some clarity about what is going on. It is a lot of money and we have to bear in mind that the revenues from parking should all go to other things like fixing the roads."
A spokeswoman for the RAC Foundation said Westminster risked "losing the confidence of law-abiding motorists" if it did not recoup the unpaid fines.
Kieran Fitsall, Westminster's parking manager, said: "The tickets span several years and have been written off for a variety of reasons."
The decision to rip up £19,440,550 of tickets for the period between March 2007 and March this year brings the total write-off to £55.4million. The council cancelled almost £20million between 2000 and 2003 and another £16million between 2003 and 2007.
Last year Westminster issued almost 690,000 parking tickets - down from just under 817,000 the year before.
Reader views (8)
Simon,
The point is that the parking WCC are charging for isn't secure.
To add insult to injury, they've just made the few (relatively)secure, underground, spaces free to use yet they still charge for unsecure surface parking. These spaces in their underground car parks are in the lowest levels and in the most badly lit corners. If I was a lone female rider/driver I would certainly think twice about using them. The other point is, that no other Council in the Country charges for m/c parking (including Hemel) and provide free to use security devices. WCC is the richest Council in the UK, so they can afford to do this too. M/c parking was always free in Westminster & there are only 2 reasons for it being charged now (1) Because they've lost £17,000,000 in Iclandic Banks and (2) they now have the means to do so, which they didn't before.
Finally, this Tax has taken over £4,000,000 out of the economy,in less than a year, which would otherwise have gone into the pockets of hard pressed businesses in Westminster who, let's not forget, pay Business Rates to WCC at a time of serious economic hardship. WCC then have the unmitigated gall to ask TfL for more Congestion Charge free days "to help local businesses" while making absolutly no concession of their own - how illogical is that!!
I assume that you are a Car Driver - how pleased are you that WCC have just jacked their Car Parking Charges by 33%? You like that? Ok, what about next year when they do the same again?
- Richard, Watford, UK
Tim J,
You make valid points but Westminster Council are allowing delivery lorries to park whilst delivering for up to 40 minutes. Perhaps you think because Westminster allow it that it doesn't make streets grind to a halt? Did you know a leading delivery organisation is paying for a job position in parking at Westminster and have reduced their PCN's by 80%?
Honest drivers will get caught because they will be either too confused by the pay by phone system to use it, or get frustrated at having to quote their card details in public, or don't have a mobile, or don't have a credit card, or are worried about muggers seeing them wave wallets and phones around.
Maybe I'm too cynical but I think that's exactly what Westminster want, a system that's easy for them to skim money from. They don't care about the service levels to the public, they just care about income.
Why are they charging for uncovered, unaltered motorcycle bays on the street but allowing lovely warm, dry, patrolled and CCTV covered bays in Westminster undercover car parks to be free?
- Vintagebasketcase, London, UK
Good Afternoon; Tim, London.
Your understandable and logical theory; that if you are an honest driver, you would not be parking unlawfully in Westminster; would sound logical to most people, and should have some bearing on the guilty and the innocent motorist that get parking tickets etc.
However; as you know, Westminster no-longer has any pay parking meters available today; and you have to have credit cards and a mobile phone in your pocket; just to park for a few moments etc; you will also see an army of Wardens Patrolling even the quietest of side roads ready to pounce on any stranger that doesn’t know the parking laws unique to Westminster Council alone etc.
They are a special case Council etc, and they are allowed by the Government to make their own rules and regulations etc; they even have their own rules on the National invalid blue badge schemes; for instance, anyone that cannot use a parking ticket machine or a phone, under the National Laws, for any reason such as mental or physical health issues; are allowed a National blue badge etc; but not under Westminster Council laws etc.
You will see Rolls and Bentley’s; right through the card of big expensive cars in Westminster with their invalid free parking permits; but very few real invalid vehicles with real invalids driving them or are passengers etc, that have Westminster permits etc; its like the MPs in Parliament; they get the free everything; but the genuine and honest people never get their rights.
- Mickyinlondon, london
i think motor cyclists should pay to park just like the rest of us have to and there demonstration on the a40 and reckless driving doesn't give them any sympathy in my books, let them pay! they wanted secure parking the money has to come from somewhere hence the charging, westminster has my support.
- Simon, HEMEL
I can't say I have much sympathy. Westminster Council is every bit as guilty as all the diplomats/criminals out there, with unclear or absent parking instructions - yet they have wardens hidden at every corner to issue penalty notices within minutes.
- Marianne (Uk National And Tax-Payer), SW France/London
Mickyinlondon said "It does not pay to be an honest or a normal British car driver in Westminster today; if you are; you will get hammered by them.
Er... if you're an honest driver then you won't be parking unlawfully in the City of Westminster in the first place. And it doesn't pay to be a car driver in Westminster unless that's your job!
Nobby Clark said "Might it be cheaper to scrap yellow lines altogether [in Westminster]" - oh yeah?! The metropolis would grind to a complete halt!
- Tim J, London
Westminster Council as no option about letting Diplomats, European Tourists, and car cloning criminals off, from paying parking fines; the only real options they have to make millions of pounds in profits, year in and year out, is to hammer the normal legal British Motorists who are easy to fine, with their over the top parking fines etc.
Now they are even charging legitimate motorcyclists to Park in their Borough; something no other London Borough Council does; etc; Even the GLA doesn’t charge motorcycles congestion charges etc; this was designed to get people to use smaller vehicles and cause less congestion etc; but Westminster wants to keep its parking profits up high; so motorcycles have been added to make up for the short-fall caused by Diplomats and Criminals etc; soon they will add cycles to their list; they would have done that already; if cycles had number plates etc.
It does not pay to be an honest or a normal British car driver in Westminster today; if you are; you will get hammered by them.
- Mickyinlondon, london
I wonder how much it costs to administer the parking system in London. Might it be cheaper to scrap yellow lines altogether rather than "lose" £55m in unpaid fines?
- Nobby Clark, Perth, Scotland
