A Victorian council has admitted to overcharging local drivers for nearly 12 years as a parking fine authorising blunder went unnoticed, resulting in millions of dollars being owed.
The Herald Sun revealed on Tuesday that Merri-bek City Council, which covers a northern area of suburban Melbourne, has overcharged thousands of motorists who have been fined for breaching parking time limits since July 2013.
The council has confirmed to SkyNews.com.au that about 250,000 parking-related fines have been charged incorrectly, resulting in a total overcharged amount of about $12 million.
The amounts overcharged ranged from $43 to $59 per fine, depending on what year they were given out, a council statement on Tuesday said.
The fines affected ranged across 11 different infringement types, with the most common being fines handed out for overstaying parking time limits.
Other infringement notices overcharged included those given for parking in ‘No Parking’ sign areas and parking vehicles at an incorrect angle.
“Merri-bek City Council has been charging 0.5 penalty units for those 11 categories of parking infringements, as many councils do. Unfortunately, it has recently been discovered that there was no resolution in place setting this value,” the statement said.
“This was due to an administrative error in 2013, which has not been identified until recently.”
Fines were mistakenly upped between July 1, 2013 and June 11 this year.
According to the council, revenue from parking infringements has gone towards infrastructure upgrades, providing community services, and maintaining council assets.
“The money collected through these 11 infringement types was put towards this purpose” the council stated.
Merri-bek City Council chief executive officer Cathy Henderson has said the council apologises for the mistake, which she called a “regrettable historical administrative error”.
“Parking is a limited resource and to ensure fair access for everyone, parking restrictions and controls are necessary. All revenue raised from parking fines is reinvested back into our community to provide services and facilities to the Merri-bek community,” Ms Henderson said in the statement.
The council’s ‘Parking Fines Refund Scheme’, which will come into effect next month and be available for a year, will allow affected motorists to apply for a refund of the overcharged amount of their fines.
The Herald Sun reported that Merri-bek City councillor Oscar Yildiz stated the discovered error “will impact our budget” as the refund process commences.
“This is about fairness, accountability and rebuilding trust with our community,” Mr Yildiz said, according to the masthead.
