Thousands hit by demands for parking fines of a decade ago

TENS of thousands of people have been left bewildered after receiving letters and text messages demanding payment of hundreds of pounds in fines dating back over a decade.

The demands for unpaid parking tickets and invalid television licences have been issued by the Ministry of Justice to claw back millions of pounds lost from historic fines.

The orders are part of a scheme being run by the Ministry of Justice with the help of new technology, using databases held by other government departments and online tracing tools that have even managed to locate people who have moved homes.

Since the scheme was launched in September 2016 around £9million has been recouped for the taxpayer, but it was not until March this year that the Historic Debt team expanded its tracing activity to include outstanding debts of more than 10 years old.

The letters have, however, left many people confused with some even believing it was a scam and ignoring the requests altogether.

Recipients have also been forced to contact their local magistrates’ court in order to trace what their alleged offence was.

In one incident a man was charged with a driving offence, despite being abroad at the time. Mark Thornton, 46, of Kilburn, North London, told the Mail on Sunday how, out of the blue, he received a letter demanding £183.

He said: “It didn’t actually say what the fine was for but eventually we were told it was for an untaxed vehicle. My wife and I were living in Switzerland in 2010, when it was supposed to have occurred. We didn’t have the paperwork any more and we didn’t want to rack up more fees so we just paid it. It felt Kafkaesque.”

An HM Courts and Tribunals Service spokesman said that the pursuit of following up the debts will continue.