Motorists to get refunds on 10,000 bus lane fines

Southwark Council issued 10,422 penalty charge notices to peoples caught on CCTV driving in bus lanes

A south London council is refunding around £485,000 to drivers after an administrative error meant some bus lane penalty notices were issued incorrectly.

Southwark, which handed out more than 10,000 penalty charge notices between February and June, has now pledged that all affected motorists will receive refunds, and any unpaid notices will be cancelled.

The Labour-run council said: "We are very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused."

But Lib Dem councillors said it was "yet another example of incompetence from a council that cannot get the basics right".

Councillor James McAsh, Southwark's cabinet member for clean air, streets and waste, said: "We have reviewed all other notices and found no further issues.

"We are also strengthening our checks with contractors to make sure this does not happen again. The council will recover the full cost of the refunds from the contractors."

The council issued 10,422 penalty charge notices to people caught on CCTV driving in bus lanes, but the the wrong legislation appeared on the notices.

It said: "We will reimburse all motorists and refunds will automatically be applied to the accounts of those affected within the next month."

Earlier this year the AA said thousands of drivers across London have been paying invalid penalty charge notices (PCNs) due to enforcement and restriction cameras that relied upon expired Traffic Management Orders or lacked updated certification.

An analysis by AA, based on London Councils external statistics, showed 56% of appeals made against bus lane penalties last year were either upheld or not contested.

For moving traffic offences such as stopping in a yellow box when not allowed, the figure was 35%.

Altogether, nearly 7,300 appeals were successful.

But hundreds of drivers who received these PCNs paid within 14 days to secure the 50% discount for early settlement, the AA said.