A NON-SMOKING woman has been left baffled after receiving a fine for dropping a cigarette – in a village nearly 200 miles from her home, which she hasn’t visited for decades.
The fixed penalty notice (FPN) was sent to Natalie Walton, 31, at her parents’ house in Gravesend, Kent, accusing her of littering in nearby Swanscombe.
However, Natalie said it could not have been her as she has not visited the place where the offence happened since she was a child, does not smoke, and has evidence she was not even in Kent at the time.
She has not lived at her parents’ address, where the letters were sent, since 2021 after she moved 182 miles away to Staffordshire.
The notice, dated November 12, stated a Dartford council officer witnessed her “committing an offence” on October 29 and she needed to pay a £75 fine or appeal it.
It added: “As neither the payment nor the written challenge has been received, you remain liable for the offence and prosecution proceedings in the magistrates’ court may begin immediately against you.
“If convicted you may have to pay a fine of up to £2,500 for littering.”
Natalie’s parents opened the correspondence and sent her a picture of it the same day.
Knowing it could not have been her – as she had bank transactions proving she was shopping in B&M and Tesco in Staffordshire at the time – Natalie started the appeal process.
She said: “I had not been to Kent for months. Dartford council were trying to fine me £75 for something I was not even there to do.
“It is just a bit bizarre. I was accused of littering a cigarette in Swanscombe which is honestly more absurd, as I do not smoke and have never been to the address they have claimed I was at.
“I feel like a complete victim of fraud. Someone must have stolen my identity or the council’s security measures are so broken they will take a name and address with no proof.”
While the appeal was looked into, Natalie’s FPN was put on hold.
However, a second letter, dated November 19, arrived at her parents’ house stating the local authority was starting court proceedings.
Natalie said: “I am getting married in two weeks and I was so panicked I would have to pay out thousands. It has been so stressful.
“Although I was told the fine was on hold, it was the impending doom and not knowing how long this was going to go on for.”
This week, Dartford council contacted Natalie saying the FPN had been cancelled following a review of the evidence she had provided.
She said: “When I saw the email, I was relieved and felt so much less stressed but I still have no idea how they thought it was me.
“I think this could happen to more people and there are probably others going through this who may have just paid it.
“It seems crazy this was able to happen.”
The local authority has since described the perpetrator to Natalie who she believes could be an old school friend she has not seen in 20 years.
A fixed penalty notice (FPN) is a written notice which details the offence you have committed, how much you need to pay, your details and when you need to pay the fine by.
In most cases you have 14 days to pay a littering penalty and the maximum fine is £150.
The fines are usually handed out in person at the time of the offence, but can be sent after in some cases.
Littering is a criminal offence and you can be prosecuted. Councils usually issue FPNs instead of going straight to court – but it’s up to each area how it applies the rules.
A spokesperson for Dartford council said: “An FPN was issued to Ms Walton for dropping litter in Swanscombe.
“This incident was recorded on the enforcement officers body-worn camera, but the FPN was put on hold whilst we awaited proof.
“The first letter sent to someone who has not paid a FPN is a ‘first reminder’ – the actual FPN is issued to the offender at the time of the offence.
“This reminder letter was sent to the address and name given by the person to whom the FPN was issued.
“Our enforcement team requested a current photo of Ms Walton and upon receiving it was compared to the person in the footage. It was found it was not Ms Walton and the FPN has now been cancelled.”
The council is still investigating who the real offender is but was unable to provide a photo.
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