Parking wardens giving out 'illegal' fines to hit targets

Published 28th Jun 2010

Motorists have been tricked into paying tens of thousands of pounds in 'illegal' parking tickets issued so that wardens can meet targets.

Thousands of the wrongful tickets have been paid by drivers who were unaware that they should have been cancelled by the council contractors who dole them out.

The tickets were issued by NSL, formerly NCP, Britain's biggest parking enforcer, which patrols the streets of 60 local authorities and Heathrow and Gatwick.

The Daily Mail has seen evidence that wardens are issuing the penalty charge notices simply to hit personal targets set by NSL - and even give this reason to management in writing.

In one case, a warden placed a ticket on a vehicle, waited an hour and then issued another for the same offence knowing that this was unlawful.

On the paperwork, seen only by his supervisor, he wrote in poor English: 'I issued PCN to keep my performance on reasonable level regardless of that it will get spoil as soon as challenge.'

Parking bosses who review the penalty charge notices know the fines - costing £120, or £60 if paid within two weeks - are wrong, but do not tell the drivers and instead wait to see if they pay the fine.

In some cases bailiffs have pursued drivers for not paying up. On official paperwork, managers have described the fraudulent practice as 'commonplace'.


WHAT THEY DO

Traffic wardens issue the ticket for the wrong reason and state this while officially recording the incident.

The ticket is then reviewed by a supervisor who states that it should be cancelled ONLY if the motorist appeals.

If the motorist appeals, the information that it should be cancelled is revealed and the charge is scrapped.

But if the motorist chooses to pay the fine, then the parking company does not reveal that it is an unlawful charge and accepts the money.

During one month last year at one London local authority, managers wrote 'only cancel if appealed' on paperwork for dozens of tickets issued for no legitimate reason.

For example, tickets in Westminster have been issued for vehicles unloading, cars temporarily parked on pavements while the driver is opening a gate, and scaffolding trucks at the side of building sites.

NSL wardens say that if they do not hit their targets they are told they are ineligible for overtime and even face losing their jobs.

Parking bosses who are supposed to cancel these tickets simply write 'cancel if challenged' - placing the onus on the motorist, who is unaware of the illegality of the fine.

An NSL source said: 'All councils deny setting targets for parking tickets but they do by giving them another name such as the "expected rate" or "base level".


'Some wardens have resorted to issuing tickets they know are unlawful just to hit their target. The company knows most people will pay it rather than appeal.'

NSL has denied setting targets and claimed it is simply monitoring performance, but monthly NSL figures show a 'PCN target' in the documentation.

In Westminster, traffic wardens, now called Civil Enforcement Officers, are given a target to issue 1.5 tickets an hour despite the council denying they have specific quotas to fill.

It is also in breach of Government guidelines outlawing target setting. Westminster Council has begun an investigation.

An NSL spokesman said: 'With any contract we monitor the performance of our Civil Enforcement Officers, as there is a great deal of trust associated with the role.'

He said 'Performance Indicators' were simply a guide to whether CEOs were doing their job properly.

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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