Blue Badge fraud increases in Bucks
Reports of blue badge fraud have gone up in Buckinghamshire.
Credit: Article from Mix 96 – 14th September 2018 by Dan Gooding
Image: A Blue Badge being placed in a car windscreen.
The County Council say it’s ‘shocking’ that badges are being used after someone has died, or handed to friends and family when out and about.
They are warning you could be fined up to £1,000 and lose the badge altogether.
That’s as BCC brings in new measures to tackle the rising number of reports of suspected abuse of the Blue Badge scheme.
Designed specifically to improve access for those with very restricted mobility, the national scheme has become open to various types of abuse by both badge holders themselves and others, including friends, family and colleagues.
Examples of common misuse include using a badge issued to a person who has since died, or badges that are no longer valid or reported as being lost or stolen.
Other examples include letting a friend or relative use the badge or using a fake or copied badge. Cases can also be brought against anyone making a fraudulent application for a blue badge.
County Council Cabinet Member for Resources, John Chilver said that it was abhorrent to think that people would actually abuse a system designed to help disabled people get on with their lives.
Caption: Hundreds of fake Blue Badges are seized every year. Councils are employing specialist teams to crack down on Blue Badge fraud and take perpetrators to court.
“It’s shocking that people stoop to this level.
“But reports are increasing and it’s time for us to clamp down on this clear and blatant fraud to safeguard genuine Blue Badge holders.
“My advice to anyone who knows they are misusing a badge is to stop doing it now before they are caught. We will be carrying out more checks than ever before, so I make no apology when I say people have been warned.”
For details about Blue Badges, a full set of questions and answers and how to report possible misuse, visit the BCC website.
View full article on Mix 96
