'Council sent me £600 fine after piece of card flew out of my bin'

A woman was slapped with a £600 fine after a piece of cardboard allegedly flew out of her bin, she claims. Francesca Poncetta was shocked upon receiving a letter about rubbish found on the street near her Wood Green home in north London.

The letter stated that a piece of packaging with her name and address was discovered at the base of a tree, just days after the recycling bins were collected, leading to her being fined. Ms Poncetta, who earns her living as a freelance photographer, initially thought the letter was some sort of prank.

The 32-year-old resident explained that she always broke down her boxes before disposing of them in the bin and suspects that the wind must have carried the scrap away. After lodging an appeal with Haringey Council, she managed to get the fine rescinded, but admitted that the stress of the situation was tough to handle.

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Ms Poncetta said: "I got a letter saying that they had found a piece of cardboard with my name and address on it and they wanted to confirm that it came from my building. I receive a lot of cardboard boxes with my job, so I break them all down and it was a very windy day, so what I believe happened is they opened a very full bin and it just flew out.

"I answered their questions and explained what happened and thought that was that. But two weeks later, I received another letter saying that I had been found guilty and owed £600.

"At first when I got the letter, I thought it was a joke. I figured that they would realise it was a mistake and cancel it. I was definitely in shock."

The letter, which came on August 12, dated the cardboard scrap as having been found on August 6 and said that Ms Poncetta must pay £300 within the first 14 days, or it would increase to £600.

Ms Poncetta, who has lived in her rented home with partner Pierce Rosamond for four years, said she tried to appeal the fine and even contacted local MPs and councillors, but to no avail.

She said: "The letter mentioned that I should seek legal advice, which felt very threatening. The first thing that I did was contact the council, because I thought it might be a scam.

"I see sofas and beds being dumped on the street all the time and if it was for that then I would understand, but this was just an accident. It was all absolutely blown out of proportion.

"If they charged me £50 I would have paid it, but £600 is insane. I would have done anything I could to not pay it. I don't have a fixed salary every month, so it is quite a considerable amount for me. It is not money that I can afford to pay out for no reason."

The fine was eventually cancelled on September 15, just over a month after it was received. Although relieved, Ms Poncetta said the incident caused her significant stress and believes the process to appeal fines should be simpler.

She said: "It was all a huge waste of time for me and as a freelancer I really value my time. It was quite a journey. It was a huge relief when they cancelled it. I had been so stressed.

"It doesn't feel fair that this high a fine was given for this type of offence. There should be a system in place for people to contest these things.

"They gave me the maximum fine, so it seems like they are just trying to make money. There is no way of appealing these fines, so it is an easy win for them.

"I have never received a fine in my life and that is why I was so annoyed. I got my first one for something that I didn't even do."

A spokesperson for Haringey Council said: "Residents have a duty of care to dispose of their household waste responsibly and this fixed penalty notice was issued after the cardboard was found in the street. Residents can challenge the decision, as was the case here.

"After considering the information provided, on this occasion we cancelled the fixed penalty notice. Our residents and businesses have demanded stronger measures to deal with littering and waste dumping so that our streets and open spaces are attractive places that can be enjoyed by all."