A London council is refunding thousands of motorists almost half a million pounds after wrongly fining them for driving in bus lanes.
Southwark Council illegally issued more than 10,000 penalty charge notices (PCNs) in just four months to cars caught on CCTV.
The penalties, known technically as 34J PCNs, which were raised between February and June 2025, were worth a total £485,220.
However, the local authority discovered it had quoted the wrong laws after “the incorrect template was copied over the bus lane template”.
Phillip Morgan, of the Free Traffic Legal Advice forum, submitted a Freedom of Information request to the council after spotting the error on several PCNs.
“In all of my experience, this is one of the worst examples of administrative incompetence I have ever encountered,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.
“I warned the council in April of this fault, to which they replied that I was mistaken about the error. Subsequently, they did not contest a case at the tribunal.
“The question must be asked: how much do Southwark council taxpayers pay for this incompetence and how much does it cost to send out by post faulty tickets and equally faulty notices of rejection?”
How much do Southwark taxpayers pay for this incompetence?
Speaking of the latest blunder, James McAsh, the council’s cabinet member for clean air, streets and waste, said: “Between February and June this year, an administrative error by one of our contractors led to some bus lane penalty notices being issued incorrectly. We are very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused.
“All affected motorists will receive refunds, and any unpaid notices will be cancelled. 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.”
Southwark Council announced they will reimburse all affected drivers within the next month.
