I was fined £500 and bailiffs knocked on the door after the council number plate was mixed up – it’s a sham

A MAN has been fined £500 and woken up by bailiffs knocking on his door – after council made a number plate mix-up.

Steven Ward, 41, was shocked when he received a letter from Birmingham City Council in June 2022 asking him to pay an £86 fine for the clean air zone.

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The Oldham lorry driver called and sent evidence that his vehicle had been in Oldham – not Birmingham – at the time of the alleged offence.

The Council hadn’t contacted him, so he thought the matter was closed.

Amazingly, he received a second letter last December – an extended fine – asking for more money, this time from CDER Group.

Then Steven called and received CCTV of a silver Vauxhall Corsa with license plate suffix AMO or AHO.

But he sent back a picture of his Peugeot 206 with the number plate AWO.

He was told no further action would be taken after he pointed out the error.

Steve was in shock after bailiffs came to his door on the morning of January 13 demanding £499.

Steve said: “It’s just not right. I had no choice but to pay.

“It was awful and so humiliating that all the neighbors saw two people coming to take the money that I really didn’t owe.

He said workers from the enforcement firm’s CDER group disturbed him after a night shift.

Steve continued: “I could see them taking pictures in my driveway so I went down to find the letter.

“Someone or some machine must have confused the Vauxhall Corsa registration with my Peugeot registration.

“I was concerned this might happen and I checked with them but they said it was all sorted.”

Steven claims he was told he had to pay or his second car – a blue Vauxhall Astra – would be taken away within the hour.

Bailiffs also said they would also take away a red-and-black Citroen owned by his partner Danielle Clarke, 28, he claims.

Steve added: “On the phone I had explained what they had told me before and they said I didn’t have to pay.

“But when I told the bailiffs they just said I had to pay or they would take the cars.

“They said there was nothing they could do because it went to court. I couldn’t let them take the Astra because it’s very important to me.”

Steven says he has since received a refund and a screenshot of his bank account shows a £499 payment from CDER Group on January 26.

Birmingham City Council said: “Council follows the statutory enforcement process for the issuance and enforcement of fines.

“This process provides a number of ways to challenge or challenge a criminal charge.

“Challenge options are also outlined at each stage of the process so that anyone who has been issued a fine understands how to pay or contest it.

“ANPR cameras offer a high level of accuracy in capturing license plate numbers.

“However, reading errors occasionally occur due to dirty, damaged or altered license plates or the position of license plate fasteners.

“As such, there are contributory facts that can lead to potential misinterpretation.

“In cases where a vehicle registration number may have been misread, motorists should follow the legal process to allow an investigation and if this is confirmed the case will be cancelled.”