More than 46,000 Northampton parking refunds still unclaimed after council blunder
More than 46,000 parking transactions in Northampton are still awaiting refunds months after drivers were wrongly charged following a council procedural error.
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) has revealed that a total of 89,998 transactions were eligible for some degree of refund after incorrect parking charges were introduced in April.
But just 43,443 have so far been claimed – meaning refunds connected to 46,555 eligible transactions remain outstanding.
The refunds claimed to date total £51,370.65.
WNC is now urging anyone who believes they could still be owed money to check whether they are eligible and submit a claim.
A council spokesperson said: “We would urge anyone who believes they might be due a refund to review the relevant page on our website and make a request if appropriate.”
The issue dates back to April, when WNC increased charges at its off-street car parks in Northampton town centre, removed a period of free weekend parking and introduced charges for Blue Badge holders.
However, the council had failed to carry out the required statutory public consultation before introducing the changes and subsequently announced that affected motorists would be refunded.
Most refunds for payments made by card or app were due to be processed automatically, while motorists who paid in cash and Blue Badge holders were required to apply using an online form.
Penalty Charge Notices issued in affected car parks were also cancelled, with those which had already been paid due to be refunded automatically.
Figures obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service and published in July showed that more than 42,000 transactions had already been refunded, at a cost of £50,928.
The administrative error also cost WNC £5,100 to process refunds through payment service providers.
Payment machines were blocked off for five days between April 26 and 30 while the council stopped charging following the discovery of the error.
Following consultation, WNC decided not to reintroduce parking charges for Blue Badge holders or visitors to Northampton’s country parks.
Revised charges at a number of other Northampton car parks, along with weekend and bank holiday charges, took effect from August 1.