Telephone payments issues

You may experience issues when you try to make a payment to us on our automated payment phone line. Apologies for the inconvenience while our payment provider resolves the issue.

Tackling misuse of Blue Badges

Published: Monday, 6 September 2021

Havering Council is cracking down on residents fraudulently using Blue Badges.

Misuse of a disabled parking badge – commonly known as Blue Badges – causes issues for those genuinely in need of having access to parking spaces. 

People misusing a Blue Badge deliberately take up spaces that should be available to more vulnerable residents and they also avoid paying parking charges. 

The misuse of the badges also costs the Council an estimated £218,000 per year. 

The most common types of fraud include: 

  • forged badges such as scans or photocopies 
  • selling on lost or stolen badges
  • using the badge even though the disabled person it belongs to is not present 
  • using the badge after the badge holder has died 
  • faking or exaggerating a disability to get a blue badge

The Council’s civil enforcement officers will be working alongside investigators BBFI, who work with local councils on the scheme.

They will also work with the support of local police to step up enforcement action. 

Councillor Osman Dervish, Havering’s Cabinet Member for Environment, said:

“The deliberate misuse of a Blue Badge deprives residents in genuine need and makes life very difficult for them and their families, who have valid badges.

“Sadly, right now, there are people who are parking in a disabled parking bay in our borough when they don’t have the right to.

"Also, those who are using a Blue Badge that doesn’t belong to them.

“We’re working alongside police and other organisations in the community to crack down on this type of fraud.

“We also encourage residents that reporting a misuse of a Blue Badge can only help to make it fairer, especially for those in our community who genuinely need it to have a better quality of life.”