A five-year-old girl was wrongly fined for flytipping, sparking outrage and concerns over the council’s enforcement practices
Harrow: Can you believe this? A five-year-old girl got hit with a £1,000 fine for flytipping! Apparently, officials thought they saw her doing it.
So, here’s the scoop. The council sent her a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) saying she was caught in the act by a uniformed officer. But wait, it turns out some packaging with her name was found on a street far from her home. She wasn’t even seen doing anything wrong!
The girl’s dad, who wants to keep the family out of the spotlight, explained that the packaging was tossed in communal bins that often overflow. He thinks it’s just crazy to fine a kid and is worried about how this will affect his daughter.
He tried to appeal the fine online but had no luck. After ten failed attempts, he went to a council advice session, only to be told he had to report it online or call. He even sent an email, but it bounced back! After a long wait on the phone, he got someone who couldn’t help and then hung up on him. How frustrating is that?
Then, the little girl got a ‘final reminder’ saying the council was about to take her to court. Can you imagine? The letter warned that a conviction could cost up to £2,500. That’s just wild!
The dad went to talk to his local councillor, who agreed that fining a child is just ridiculous. He said residents expect a fair process, and this whole situation has been super stressful for the family.
The dad just wants the fine to go away and for there to be a clear way to appeal these things. He feels like there’s no proper process in place. Thankfully, this issue was brought up in a council meeting, and the council leader said it’s totally unacceptable to fine a child.
Good news, though! Harrow Council has now canceled the fine. They admitted the FPN should have been canceled during the appeal process. They even reached out to the family to apologize and promised to improve their service. What a relief!