Tens of thousands refunded to residents wrongly accused of fly-tipping

Fines totalling more than £40,000 have been repaid to residents wrongly accused of fly-tipping under a “flawed” Haringey Council policy.

The Local Government Ombudsman told the council to refund the fixed-penalty notices (FPNs), cancel any that were outstanding, and change a policy that treated people as fly-tippers if they left their bins out at the wrong time or their collection was missed.

Residents living above shops and businesses do not have wheelie bins and have to leave their waste outside during allotted hours in time for twice-daily collections. Under the former policy, they risked being hit with a £400 fly-tipping FPN if they missed their collection slot.

Those who were caught out had no formal grounds of appeal and were told to pay FPNs within 14 days or face a court hearing that could leave them up to £2,500 out of pocket. Crouch End resident Isabelle Langlois complained to the ombudsman after being fined last year for leaving her rubbish out 35-40 minutes before the allotted time.

Government guidance on the Environmental Protection Act says councils cannot issue FPNs for minor problems such as leaving waste out early and should issue a written warning before imposing fines for more serious infringements. After considering Isabelle’s complaint, the ombudsman said the council’s policy seemed to rely on a separate part of the act concerned with fly-tipping.

Although this is not against the law, the ombudsman found it was “not proportionate or in the spirit of the government guidance to treat rubbish left out 35 minutes early as fly-tipping, which is a criminal offence”. It told the council to apologise to Isabelle and pay her £100 to recognise the distress and uncertainty the FPN caused her.

The ombudsman also told the council to change its policy and cancel or refund any fly-tipping FPNs that were wrongly issued during the past twelve months. Haringey’s Liberal Democrat opposition group revealed this month that the decision meant the civic centre would have to return £42,920 to residents.

Lib Dem leader Luke Cawley-Harrison accused the council of “treating residents as a resource” and “forgetting that these are the people it exists to serve”.

He added: “There is no common sense being applied here when residents and businesses act in good faith to help keep our streets clean. Meanwhile, we routinely see waste left out for hours, and sometimes days, when Veolia fails to carry out a collection, seemingly with impunity.

“It is good to see that this wrong-headed policy is being changed, and those fined under it having their money returned, but this should never have been necessary. It is clear that Haringey Council needs to change.”

Council leader Peray Ahmet said: “Following the ombudsman’s decision, we immediately amended our policy and have stopped issuing £400 fines, and those that had already been issued have now all been cancelled and refunded. We have now implemented the ombudsman’s guidance and are issuing warnings before any enforcement action is taken for waste that is put out before the timed collection period.”

Cllr Ahmet explained the enforcement policy had been put in place “as an important step in keeping our streets clean and free of rubbish to prevent issues for the wider community, such as vermin infestations and limited accessibility for pedestrians and those with disabilities.”

The council has recently introduced on-street waste containers for many residents who live in flats above shops.

A Veolia spokesperson said: “We strive to ensure that all collections are carried out on time and work closely with our partners at Haringey Council to minimise the amount of waste that is left on high roads, such as the expansion of the new on-street waste containment box scheme.”