In 2007 the council introduced a new parking scheme for Hove, and decided that not only would it stop honouring parking vouchers that it had previously sold, but it would not give refunds for them either - unless individuals demanded refunds for over £100 worth of vouchers, in which case they would be refunded in full.
Presumably the council assumed that only businesses would have over £100 in vouchers and they would not have hesitated to sue. And perhaps they thought that the individuals who owned relatively small numbers of vouchers would either not know their rights, or would not have time to take legal action, and so could be easily exploited.
Buying parking vouchers from a council creates a legal contract under which the council is obliged to provide what has been paid for. The fact that the council believes it has the right to renege on such a contract without offering any compensation is really beneath contempt.
Since then at least four people have sued the council for refusing to give refunds. The council applied to the court to have some of the claims struck out on the grounds that they had 'no reasonable chance of success'. Finally, just before each of the court cases, the council did a U-turn and paid both the claims and the applicants' court costs.
Yet the council is still refusing to say why it has tried to fight these claims, or promise that it will pay any other claims that are submitted, and it is now hiding behind an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act to support its refusal to answer questions on the matter. This seems entirely unacceptable and savebrighton is appealing against it.
It will surely be an outrage if anyone still needs to sue, but a court summons can be easily issued online at www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco/index.jsp - the court fee is £25 for claims up to £300; you pay it up front but it is automatically part of your claim and it will be refunded if the council decides not to defend it or loses in court.