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A woman was fined £300 for placing her late husband’s clothes next to a donation bin. Sophie Scott took the clothes to the Salvation Army charity bin in Asda car park in Kings Hill, Kent on Monday, October 20. When she arrived, the bins were “completely full”, so she placed the two bin liners of clothes on the ground “neatly” beside lots of other bags. However, after getting into her car, the mum-of-two says she was approached by a warden who asked if she had left the bags by the donation bin. She told him: “Yes, they are for charity, I’ve been donating.” Sophie says the warden reeled off a list of dos and don’ts and explained he was going to fine her for fly-tipping, and it would cost £300. A spokesperson for Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council said they understood the incident occurred at a “difficult time” for Mrs Scott, but explained the notice had been issued in line with its “standard policy”. Meanwhile, the company representing the enforcement agent responsible for dishing out the fine said it welcomed dialogue with individuals to provide “additional context”. Sophie insists she hadn’t seen any signs and “would never fly-tip”. The 51-year-old said: “I was very distressed because I’m about to have the funeral for my husband, who passed away very recently, so it’s been an incredibly difficult time, and it remains difficult. I was visibly very, very upset and told him that my mind was elsewhere. “He did absolutely nothing and said he was filming me and that I needed to take it up with the council. It was very distressing, I simply can’t afford a £300 fine, I have one income now. It’s just awful behaviour, I certainly wasn’t fly-tipping, I was donating to charity, as was everybody else who left bags.” Sophie lost her husband, Simon Scott, to an aggressive form of cancer in September, when he was 55 years of age, and had told the warden she was grief-stricken when he fined her. Despite explaining her situation, the mum said the warden was “very unsympathetic” and said he was filming her straight away which made her feel “harassed”. “He made me feel like a criminal – and I’m certainly not a criminal,” she added. After the ordeal, Sophie rang the council, who she says were sympathetic and offered to freeze the fine whilst they look into it. It is understood a third-party, Kingdom, is hired by the council to enforce parking and fly-tipping fines. Business owner Sophie went on Facebook to share her ordeal and says hundreds of people came forward saying similar things had happened to them. She said: “It’s really despicable what they are doing, they are blatantly trying to get money out of people and it’s often women who might feel a bit more vulnerable. I want the fine to be ripped up and to have an apology.” She added: “I hope it doesn’t deter people from giving to charity, but I hope this can be made an example for everybody else and the council finally wake up and see what’s actually happening here.” When approached for comment the council said it was currently in contact with Sophie regarding the fine. “The fixed penalty notice was issued in line with our standard policy and the signs displayed at the recycling site“ a spokesperson explained. “However, if Mrs Scott feels there are mitigating circumstances she would like Kingdom to consider in her defence, we would encourage her to get in touch with Kingdom.” A spokesperson for the Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd (SATCoL), the trading arm of the charity, said it was “really sorry” to hear a member of the public was fined when trying to donate items to its clothing bank and explained the charity does not issue or request fines, only the local council does. They added: “Receiving a fine for trying to help a charity is upsetting and frustrating and we do everything we can to avoid that by emptying our banks regularly, often daily. The Kings Hill site is busy and is visited regularly. We don’t want to put people off donating to us as we use the funds generated from selling clothing items to fund our vital work like providing hot meals for rough sleepers or nappies and baby milk for a desperate family. “However, if a bank looks like it is full, we ask that people try and save donations for another day.” The charity explained that clothes often get spoiled when they are left by a bank and that because clothes left on the street or by a bank is considered as fly-tipping the charity often bears the cost “which can run to thousands of pounds”. A Kingdom LAS spokesperson explained it encourages enforcement officers to consider “all available evidence at the time of assessment”. They said: “Our enforcement process includes a representation process, during which the case can be fully reviewed. This allows for any further or supporting evidence to be taken into account before a final decision is made.” The spokesperson explained officers wear body-worn cameras as part of their standard operating procedure in order to obtain a “true record” of what is said by both the public and its officers, as well as to respond to any complaints accurately. Kingdom LAS added: “We are committed to ensuring that every case is handled fairly and with full consideration of the circumstances. Our approach is designed to be both thorough and proportionate, and we welcome dialogue with individuals who wish to provide additional context.”
