Fixed penalty notice for ‘flytipping’

[Katewri699]

Hi all,I’m looking for some advice please,a neighbour of mine decided that it would be nice to do a tidy up of the communal flower beds and a few of the little front gardens including mine.I went out to help sweep up for half and hour and went back in (I have a severely disabled husband who I’m back and forth seeing to) and thought no more of it.2 days later a guy walks up to me out the front of my house and says he is from the council,he tells me that they have evidence that some rubbish has been fly tipped across the road and he has evidence that it has all come from my house and mine alone,I told him that it was a community effort to tidy up the car park area and that most of the neighbours and their children came out to help.He tells me that he has footage of me dumping it where it was found,I said ok ! I would love to see that footage please and he tells me he I can’t unless I go to court,he asks for my details,k go and get my driving licence and he hands me a fixed penalty notice of £200 for fly tipping !!! I put in a representation stating that I don’t feel I should have got the fine as it was a community effort and I had no knowledge of where the weeds had gone after I came back in the house,but unsurprisingly it was rejected,apparently I had admitted that all the waste was mine and I must have asked a neighbour to dump it there for me,
I only have until Saturday to either pay it or take it to court, there’s a couple of things I have in my defence…

I have ring doorbell footage of the neighbour opposite me depositing the waste where it was found

I have a brown bin that I pay money for every year for my garden waste so why would I dump it and risk a fine

The other neighbours are prepared to write a statement saying it was a community effort and it didn’t all come from my house and that no one asked the neighbour to deposit it where she chose to…

please give any advice you can on what you think I should do as I’m worried sick and haven’t been sleeping xxx

[R0b]

Hi,

Sounds like you have been duped and you fell for it. Always be wary of someone who says they have evidence but are unwilling to show you, it was clearly a fishing expedition so the person could issue a fine to you.

Are you able to upload a copy of the penalty notice, it would be useful to know what offence the local authority office has issued. There may be a defence on the basis you never dumped it so keep that footage safe and make copies if you have to as that could be what you need to defend this.

Time is short so you either need to decide to pay it and move on or challenge it but that's difficult with less than 24 hours to work out if there's any substance to the fixed penalty charge.

[DE DOGS]

£200. I think that I would attend the Court, which will show that the Council will have to produce the so-called film, that will prove that you never took the weeds across the road, This happened to me recently, somebody threw some rubbish in a Morrisons Car park, gave a false name but my address, threats of Court and a fine, plus a Criminal record. The Beagles came to my assistance, apologies from the Council.

[des8]

Your main problem now is that you have admitted some of the garden refuse was yours.
Garden refuse is controlled waste, and can only be disposed off via a registered carrier.
You have admitted it was left to a neighbour to dispose off, which immediately puts you in the wrong, and if that person disposes of it by flytipping you are held responsible.

[islandgirl]

This does seem extremely unfair. The gamble is, if you lose in court you will have costs to pay and if found guilty fine is based on income rather than a fixed penalty and is just about unlimited. Obviously we have only one side of the story here but on that evidence I think you would have a reasonably strong case (depending on what the council can prove) if you turned up with all the items in your favour. I think it depends what the intention was as to what would happen to the bags. Did someone volunteer to take them to the tip later for example?

[echat11]

Send the Council a Subject Access Request, they have 30 days to provide the alleged 'footage'. You should be able to request this online via your Council's website. There will probably be an online form you need to fill in. Be specific about the information you require.

Also the Council don't just pop up, another local has lodged a complaint with the Council. Best to see what the Council has.

Once you get the 'footage', If the Council employee has been disingenuous, then lodge a formal complaint against the employee / Council. Follow their complaints procedure.

At random, this is Bristol's - https://www.bristol.gov.uk/council-a...tection-policy

https://legalbeagles.info/library/gu...ccess-request/