FPN for flytipping. Anything I can do?

nav400

Hi everyone. Not sure if this is the right place to ask this as it's my first time posting here, please advise where I should repost if I'm in the wrong place.

I have received this letter from the council and I haven't received any previous letters. I called them and it turns out that I have a 400 pound fine for putting an empty cardboard box next to the bin. At first, the letter seemed like a scam so I went to the council, which was useless but at least I made sure that it was legit. They said that my only option (if I want to ask for proof or attest) is to email Kingdom using that email. Kingdom is a private company used by some councils for environmental enforcement. Later on, my flatmate also received two letters, a new fine for 80£ and a reminder for an older one for 120£ (he also only received a 2nd reminder for this one). My neighbors also received a letter but I don't know how much is the amount.

I share a room on a high road with no option of recycling. The only option we have is using the purple bags which we don't have because our landlord doesn't supply them. He never explained the rules to me and he has been unreachable since I moved in. It was an honest mistake as I didn't know the rules and they're very unclear, even on the council's website they admit this. It was my second week in the country and the first week in this place so I was just following what everyone is doing. If I knew about the fine, I wouldn't have left my name and address on the box. My flatmates who were living here for a long period told me that it's what they have been doing and they never received any warning about it.

My flatmate has sent them an email as they also think this is unfair and I'm still waiting to see what happens with him. Can anyone give me advice on how I could go about this fine? Is going to court an option? P.S. I still have some time to try to resolve this because they gave me another month or so to pay when I called them the first time.

Many thanks to anyone who takes the time to help!

bris

Unfortunately you left your waste, outside on the street, next to a bin is not properly disposed of and council bins are not for household waste even if it was in the bin.

Going to court is an option but they tend to default to the council, your defence is weak.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Sorry to hear OP, the dumping of rubbish is a big problem but cardboard left by bins for collection/recycling should come with a warning to begin with in my view, some may consider it unsightly to look at (although no more than rows of purple bags but there you go). Whist the law is such, the intention behind such actions is clearly not the same a tipping a truck load of rubbish in a field.

How big was the box? I believe there's a point between littering and flytipping.

If you Google flytipping fine cardboard box you'll find several news articles on this, worth a read to see what outcome they end up at.

Your council should supply you with the purple bags, you may be able to order them via their website   

nav400

bris said:

Unfortunately you left your waste, outside on the street, next to a bin is not properly disposed of and council bins are not for household waste even if it was in the bin.

Going to court is an option but they tend to default to the council, your defence is weak.

Thanks bris! I just wanted to mention that the council bins we have are actually for household waste as you can see in the picture below. They also mention "no bulky waste" and my box was rather big..  

nav400

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Sorry to hear OP, the dumping of rubbish is a big problem but cardboard left by bins for collection/recycling should come with a warning to begin with in my view, some may consider it unsightly to look at (although no more than rows of purple bags but there you go). Whist the law is such, the intention behind such actions is clearly not the same a tipping a truck load of rubbish in a field.

How big was the box? I believe there's a point between littering and flytipping.

If you Google flytipping fine cardboard box you'll find several news articles on this, worth a read to see what outcome they end up at.

Your council should supply you with the purple bags, you may be able to order them via their website   

I would consider it a big box (a table top delivered by Ikea) but it was next to at least 10 other cardboard boxes disposed of there by the shops. So I really didn't feel like I was making the sight much worse.. but I get the point. Thank you!

MarvinDay

nav400 said:

If I knew about the fine, I wouldn't have left my name and address on the box. 

Admitting that if you knew it was illegal you would still have dumped it but taken steps to avoid getting caught and fined doesn't make you look good at all.

nav400

MarvinDay said:

nav400 said:

If I knew about the fine, I wouldn't have left my name and address on the box. 

Admitting that if you knew it was illegal you would still have dumped it but taken steps to avoid getting caught and fined doesn't make you look good at all.

Sorry, that is not what I meant. I just mean that it's obviously an honest mistake by someone who didn't know the law (first offense) because if I knew and still wanted to break the law (not that I would, just hypothetically) I wouldn't at least be so stupid to leave my name on the box. This is not what I intend to use as a defense, just explaining to the people reading my post.

Aylesbury_Duck

All you can do is weigh up whether to pay or go to court.  I don't think you have a strong case, but it might be worth a shot.

nav400

Aylesbury_Duck said:

All you can do is weigh up whether to pay or go to court.  I don't think you have a strong case, but it might be worth a shot.

To be honest, I wouldn't go to court if it's not a strong case. Not worth risking a criminal record.

TELLIT01

If the council has given you extra time, I would be inclined to contact Kingdom and explain that you have only received one letter - this one.  You did leave items illegally, although you weren't aware, so offer to pay the basic fine of £80 and put it down to experience.  If the landlord won't provide the purple bags, ask the council if they will supply them direct to you.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

TELLIT01 said:

If the council has given you extra time, I would be inclined to contact Kingdom and explain that you have only received one letter - this one.  You did leave items illegally, although you weren't aware, so offer to pay the basic fine of £80 and put it down to experience.  If the landlord won't provide the purple bags, ask the council if they will supply them direct to you.

I don't think there is a basic fine of £80 but that £400 is the basic fine for flytipping.