Every Driver Wrongly Fined by One Council From 2020 Can Reclaim Up to £50

• Elmbridge Borough Council admits that more than 9,000 parking fines in its council car parks were issued incorrectly between January 2020 and April 2026.
• Only 1,957 refund applications had reached the council by 3 November 2026, five months after the scheme opened, and 1,869 of them had been paid.
• A claim takes a registration number, proof of payment and bank details, the council aims to pay within two weeks, and a driver who has sold the car can still apply.

Why the Council Cannot Tell You Your Fine Was Wrong

A driver who paid a parking fine in one of 17 Elmbridge council car parks, at one of the listed times, can claim that money back, and nobody is going to write to say so. The council holds no contact details for the people it fined. The information tied to a vehicle registration number sits with the DVLA and is protected for privacy reasons, so the council is not allowed to use it to trace drivers. The scheme depends on each driver spotting the story and acting alone.

The numbers show how that is going. Between 3 June and 3 November 2026 the council received 1,957 applications, paid 1,869, had 1 ready for payment and 86 in progress. Against that sits the council’s own count of 9,318 penalty charge notices issued in the affected car parks from 2020. Applications and notices are different counts: one driver can hold several fines and only paid fines qualify, so the ratio is a rough guide: 21 applications for every 100 notices. Even allowing for that, the gap is wide.

Dawn Crewe, a director at Elmbridge Borough Council, put the request plainly: “If you think you may be eligible, please check the details on our website and submit a claim.”

What Went Wrong in 17 Car Parks

The council puts the fault in the procedure it followed to set up some parking rules legally. The 17 car parks sit in five towns: Esher, Cobham, Hersham, Walton-on-Thames and Weybridge. Crewe apologised in the council’s release: “We are very sorry that a procedural error led to some parking fines being issued incorrectly. Once we identified the issue, we worked quickly to put things right and introduce a refund scheme.”

Two sets of fines qualify, and both depend on the hour or the day. Fines handed out in the 8am hour or the 6pm hour, from 6 January 2020 to April 2026, qualify in 12 car parks, among them Civic Centre in Esher, Cedar Road in Cobham, Manor Road in Walton-on-Thames and Monument Hill in Weybridge. Ashley Park in Walton-on-Thames is one of the 12 and has a longer morning band, 8am to 10am, with the same evening hour. Sunday fines between 24 April 2022 and April 2026 qualify in the car parks on the council’s Sunday list, which adds Mayfield Road in Hersham, Station Avenue and Walton Park in Walton-on-Thames, and Heath North and Heath South in Weybridge.

The hour and the date decide eligibility. The council limits the scheme to the car parks and times above, so a fine at 11am on a weekday in one of these car parks falls outside it.

The political apologies came in May 2026. Councillor Mike Rollings, Leader of Elmbridge Borough Council, said: “I apologise to everyone affected by this mistake. We’re determined to put this right quickly, and we will open a clear, simple refund process as soon as possible so people can get their money back.”

Crewe set out the process in May: “I am very sorry that a procedural error has led to parking fines being issued incorrectly in some of our car parks. I understand this will be frustrating for those affected, and I want to reassure residents and visitors that we are doing everything we can to put this right. The refund process will be kept as straightforward as possible, with refunds issued within 2 weeks of successful application, and we will make sure the scheme is widely publicised so that everyone who may be affected is aware.”

Councillor Kirsty Hewens, Portfolio Holder for Enterprise, Parking and Local Economy, added: “I’m very sorry this happened, and I know it will have caused real inconvenience for some people. That’s why I’m determined to open the refund process ASAP. When it does open, I encourage anyone affected to contact us so we can process their refund. Once a claim is approved, our aim is to pay refunds within 2 weeks.”

How to Claim Your Money Back

The route starts on the council’s parking fine refund page, where the form asks for a vehicle registration and checks it against the council’s records. A registration that appears on the list lets the claim go ahead. A driver who cannot apply online can phone 01372 474 474, and the council says staff can help with the application over the phone.

Gather four things first: a name and contact details, the registration number, proof that the fine was paid and bank details for the refund. Proof is the item that takes digging. Most payments appear on a bank statement as “ELMBRIDGE BOROUGH”, and the council asks for three details from that line: the payment reference, the date and the amount. A fine paid in 2020 or 2021 means digging out an old statement, so search the paper copies or the online archive for that line.

Sold the car? The council says a former owner can still apply, as long as they can give the registration number. Anyone who faced bailiff or enforcement action over an eligible fine is in a separate position: the council holds those contact details and says it will make contact directly, and the same phone number starts a claim.

Once an application is in, the council checks it against its records, contacts the driver if it needs more information and pays an approved claim. Crewe described the target: “We have designed the process to be as straightforward as possible so that anyone affected can reclaim their money, and we aim to issue refunds within two weeks of a valid claim submission.”

What You Will Not Get Back

The refund covers the fine and nothing else. The council looked at paying interest and decided against it, so a driver who paid £50 in March 2020 receives £50. Elmbridge council car parks normally charge £50 for a penalty charge notice and £25 when it is paid inside 14 days, so a refund is typically one of those two sums.

Pay and display tickets are outside the scheme. The council’s reasoning is that a driver who parked for the shops or a film paid for parking and got it, and the error touched only the council’s legal ability to fine for non-payment. The scheme refunds parking fines only.

The scheme costs the council about £308,000 by its own estimate. Spread across 9,318 notices that works out at roughly £33 a notice. The money comes from parking reserves, and the council says no service is cut and no new charge is introduced to fund it.

If You Disagree, and What Changes Next

A driver unhappy with how the council handles a claim can complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which is the route the council names. A driver who still thinks a notice was unfair can read how parking fine appeals work from the first challenge to the tribunal.

The council has also changed what drivers pay. Its refund guidance said a corrected legal framework would allow more free parking and shorter charging hours, with the changes expected from July 2026. On 22 June the council announced no increase in parking charges, 30 minutes of free parking in its village and town centre car parks, and free evening parking in town centres starting at 6pm instead of 7pm. Crewe said the same error should not return: “As soon as we identified the error we learned from the mistake and put new procedures in place to ensure it can not happen again.”

Elmbridge is not the only council in this position, as the earlier coverage of wrongly issued parking fines explains. A driver elsewhere who paid a fine and later hears that the council admitted an error can ask that council in writing whether a refund scheme exists, and should keep the proof of payment.

A driver who disputes a fine on other grounds can see how often Traffic Penalty Tribunal appeals succeed for drivers outside the capital.

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Sources

• Elmbridge Borough Council: Don’t miss out on a refund you may be entitled to
• Elmbridge Borough Council: About the parking fine refund scheme
• Elmbridge Borough Council: Investing in Elmbridge with parking boost
• Guildford Dragon: £300,000 of Parking Fines Liable for Refunds

Reviewed by Preetam Gadekar