London Ulez auto pay blunders have triggered £11,445 in fines | Motoring
My brother-in-law received 200 penalty notices (PCN) for unpaid ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) charge in London.
He set up a car pay for his van that does not comply with the Ulez standard, but because of a series of errors paid £11,445 in fines, owes a further £1,400 and faces bills for 70 more fines after losing his appeals.
It started last December when his car the payroll account was suspended and the PCNs started arriving. The account was reinstated by TfL with a different spelling of its surname, so his appeals regarding his PCNs were rejected because he was considered a “third party”.
TfL refused to let him pay his debts through a individual voluntary arrangement. He suffers from dyslexia and a serious chronic autoimmune disease triggered by stress. His mental health is at the point where he has discussed suicide.
LM, London
It seems that misunderstandings, miscommunication, and panic have caused your brother-in-law’s situation to spiral out of control.
TfL insists it informed him of alternative ways to pay when his automatic payment account was suspended over a disputed payment last December. In a recorded customer service call in February, he was informed that his PCN appeals had been rejected because the misspelled last name suggested he was an invalid third party.
TfL later corrected its error. Another recording from the summer shows how hard he tried to set up an affordable payment plan, but was repeatedly given conflicting information.
Meanwhile, PCNs continued to flow in rapidly and there was a shortage of funds to meet payments.
It is the drivers’ responsibility to ensure that they pay all official fees due. It is undisputed that your brother repeatedly failed to do so for many reasons. So I think the PCNs were technically legitimate.
Ethically, I’m not so sure. It seems the TfL system has hindered rather than helped him. TfL, when informed of her deteriorating mental health, hastily canceled all ongoing PCNs, removing the terror of endless debt, but not the hole in the family finances from the thousands already paid. Its automatic payment is now active again.
“We will always try to support people who are struggling to pay penalties,” a spokesperson said. “We have been in contact with him and have accepted the amount he paid to resolve the issue.”
We accept letters but cannot respond individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime telephone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions.
