Almost 18,000 parking fines in region are reversed
Thousands of parking fines are wrongly being handed out in Staffordshire and the Black Country, it has emerged, with hundreds of thousands of pounds in fines being reversed as a result.
Councils cancelled more than 17,800 tickets last year for machine problems, attendant errors and the driver holding a disabled badge.
Sandwell Council overturned 5,350 tickets in the year 2011 to 2012, Walsall Council cancelled 3,588 tickets and Stafford Borough Council cancelled 1,938 tickets.
Dudley Council overturned 1,434 tickets, which equates to £79,541 in lost fines, while Wolverhampton Council cancelled 5,573 tickets, which would have brought in an extra £262,715.
In Sandwell, there were 544 "attendant errors" while, in 1,297 cases, the fine was scrapped after it was revealed the driver was a disabled badge holder.
A duplicated car registration number was blamed on 41 occasions.
Councillor Ian Jones, cabinet member for neighbourhood services, said: "We have always said that if people get a ticket and feel that it has been issued unjustly, they should appeal where it will be reviewed."
In Dudley, tickets were cancelled for reasons including faulty machines and inadequate signs.
Councillor Judy Foster said all appeals are investigated thoroughly to ensure motorists get a fair deal.
"Parking enforcement is not a tool with which to beat the motorist and extract money from them, but one of a range of measures to attract tourism and trade to Dudley and protect the interests of existing businesses and residents by keeping the borough moving," she said.
