I got slapped with £6,000 bill after getting 51 fines in a DAY for driving down a residents only road – it’s a joke
A BUILDER received 51 fines totalling £6,000 in a single day after repeatedly driving down a residents only road.
John Barrett, 54, says he accrued the charges over a five-month period - but they were all delivered to his door on March 10.
He got a message from shocked wife Lisa, also 54, after more than 50 letters flooded through the letterbox - containing fines adding up to £6,350.
Builder John says the penalties - which cost £130 a pop - have been issued because his trips to the gym see him drive up a road in Chiswick, west London, which is for resident use only.
But the dad-of-three claims he has a permit which allows his Tesla to use the route without penalty - and the fines have been issued incorrectly.
Infuriated John says he has been forced to fire off emails to Hounslow Council corresponding to each letter as they will not accept a blanket response.
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He said: "It's ridiculous, no warning or anything. No letter to say you've been caught on camera driving on this road and we don't think you should be.
"It's incredible. Imagine if I was someone really vulnerable. Not to mention that my permit allows me to use that road.
"The cost to the taxpayer must have been massive - each notice has three screenshots of my car.
"The time it takes them to print out those screenshots and put the letter in the envelope would cost a fortune.
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"All they had to do was put my registration into their computer and they'd see I had a permit. This has taken so much of my time."
John says the traffic system in his area has changed rapidly in the last couple of years, with a surge in residents only roads and cycle lanes.
He believes errors may have occurred because changes were made too fast and without warning.
John claims he was given seven penalties last year for driving to the gym, and replied to each one explaining he had a permit - but never heard back.
Summing up the latest situation, he said: "What a waste of money.
"Two in five people are living in poverty here, and so many of us are worried about how to pay the bills at the moment.
"It's such a stress and it's not okay to give people no warning, and I have 28 days to pay but they get 56 days just to reply to an email.
"It's maddening. What are they doing that they need 56 days to write an email? I respond to over 50 emails a day."
It's ridiculous. The cost to the taxpayer must have been massive
John Barrett
Hounslow Council has since cancelled all 51 fines.
A spokesperson added: "The car receiving the PCN was leased from a lease company.
"They provided the wrong address details for an address further down the road.
"The wrong address received the PCNs. When the resident emailed in their resident/permit status, a staff member cancelled their PCNs and sent a letter outlining that they needed to apply for their exemption.
"However, this letter was yet again sent to the wrong address.
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"Subsequent fines were then issued as they still hadn't applied for their exemption (as the letter had gone to the wrong address).
"All fines have now been cancelled."
