A London council is refunding several thousand bus fines which were handed out to motorists between February and June 2025 after the the wrong legislation appeared on the notices
Motorists are set to receive refunds on 10,000 bus lane fines after they were incorrectly issued by a council due to an admin error.
Southwark Council is refunding an eye-watering £485,000 to drivers after handing out more than 10,000 penalty charge notices between February and June 2025. The south London council have promised that all affected motorists will receive refunds, and any unpaid notices will now be cancelled.
The council said: “We are very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused.”
Local politicians were less than pleased about the mess-up. 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, according to the BBC. It said: “We will reimburse all motorists and refunds will automatically be applied to the accounts of those affected within the next month.”
It comes as long-awaited plans to crack down on the “misleading tactics and confusing processes” used by private parking companies have been launched.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said its consultation on a legislation-backed code of practice for the sector is aimed at creating a “ fairer, more transparent private parking system ”.
Analysis in July 2025 found Britain’s drivers were handed a record 14.4 million parking tickets by private companies in the year to the end of March. That was a 13% increase from the 12.8 million during the previous 12 months, and more than double the 6.8 million in 2018/2019.
Each ticket can be up to £100, meaning the total daily cost to drivers may be near £3.9 million at the current rate. Local growth minister Alex Norris said: “From shopping on your local high street to visiting a loved one in hospital, parking is part of everyday life.
“But too many people are being unfairly penalised.
“That’s why our code will tackle misleading tactics and confusing processes, bringing vital oversight and transparency to raise standards across the board. This is another example of how we are fixing the things that really impact people’s day-to-day lives.”
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