A London driver has blasted Sadiq Khan and Transport for London’s ‘incompetent’ ULEZ expansion after he was issued a fine for a car that has been off the road for 2 months.
To his further frustration, Richard Roberts, 42, discovered the camera had made the error after snapping only part of a council van’s number plate – missing the crucial first letter.
Richard is the owner of four cars and until August, his Winchmore Hill address in London was not subject to ULEZ regulations meaning he was free to drive his 1991 VW Golf in peace.
Following Sadiq Khan’s controversial decision to extend ULEZ to the entire boundaries of London, Richard ‘reluctantly’ registered all four of his vehicles on TfL‘s auto-pay system.
He then declared his un-ULEZ compliant VW Golf – a car he primarily uses for racing at the weekends – as SORN and parked it up in the garage for Winter.
Richard was stunned to see that he had been issued a ULEZ fine for the vehicle regardless as its number plate had been picked up on an Enfield council van
Richard Roberts has blasted Sadiq Khan and Transport for London’s ‘incompetent’ ULEZ expansion after he was issued a fine for a car that he had taken off the road
But last week, the property investment consultant was stunned to see that he had been issued a ULEZ fine for the vehicle regardless as its number plate had been picked up on an Enfield council van.
The incident, which took place on Great Cambridge Road was snapped by a camera and clearly shows Richard’s registration (J20 VTT) on the front of the van.
However, in the second picture taken immediately after the van’s full registration of MJ20 VTT can be seen in full.
Despite the mistake being clear and obvious, Richard says was hit by a ULEZ charge of £90 which would have increased to £180 if not paid in 14 days – a decision he appealed.
Speaking to MailOnline, Richard said the experience had been infuriating.
He explained: ‘Last week I logged on to my autopay account and I was stunned to see they’d charged me.
‘There had been no email and no notification – they’d just charged me.
‘It’s staggering. Not only do the pictures show it’s a peugeot van with a different number plate it’s also an Enfield council van!
‘The camera took the evidence itself and the system still charges – it’s two for the price of one!
‘I appealed straight away, and it asked me to submit evidence. I just said: Look at your own photos!’
Richard’s VW Golf had been declared SORN and parked up in his garage since August
The vintage motor is used mainly for race track days and is not ULEZ friendly
TfL have now confirmed that Richard’s charges have been dropped from the system
Richard says the close encounter with the ULEZ cameras – which have been torn down across London in protest since the expansion took place – have made him question whether the system is fit for purpose.
He continued: ‘What’s worse is that TfL didn’t even check, they just charged. Enfield councils were very pro-ulez and one of their own vans has offended.
‘I had signed up for autopay in good faith which makes the incompetence worse.
‘The whole thing is frustrating and concerning. How many more drivers are going to be targeted like this?
‘The technology is clearly faulty and the relevant checks aren’t being done. It’s sheer incompetence.’
A spokesman for TfL said: ‘We apologise for any distress this has caused to Mr Roberts.
‘This is a very rare occurrence, but unfortunately our Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras have misinterpreted the registrations on the other cars as Mr Roberts’ registration and incorrect charges were applied.
‘We have refunded all charges paid and have put in extra measures involving further checks to avoid this happening in future.
‘We urge anyone who believes they have been sent a penalty charge notice incorrectly to contact us at the earliest opportunity so we can investigate thoroughly.’
More than 400,000 drivers have dodged a ULEZ fine because Transport for London ‘can’t find their details’
The mistake comes weeks after it emerged that over 400,000 drivers have dodged a ULEZ fine because TfL ‘can’t find their details’.
Sadiq Khan’s clean air scheme cannot issue penalties to non-compliant vehicles if their details are not up to date in the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) records.
A Freedom of Information request by MyLondon revealed that 417,080 fines were avoided between the start of January and the end of August this year because of this data shortfall.
A Freedom of Information request by MyLondon revealed that 417,080 fines were avoided between the start of January and the end of August this year because of this data shortfall.
The figures include a significant number of vehicles registered abroad, as the DVLA is a national database, none of them appear in the system – making it significantly more difficult to track them down.
487,925 penalties were also not issued in 2022 because of this same problem.
TfL confirmed earlier this month that of the 168,000 fines given to foreign motorists in 2022 total around £12 million owed.
A TfL spokesperson said: ‘It is a legal requirement for vehicle owners to register their vehicle with the DVLA and ensure details are up to date. If a vehicle has incurred a penalty, we contact the DVLA to obtain the keeper details, and if DVLA records are incomplete, a penalty cannot be issued.
‘When DVLA data is not available we seek other sources. In other cases there may be evidence of criminal activity.
‘If a foreign registered vehicle is used in the ULEZ, and not registered with TfL, the details are passed to European Parking Collections (EPC), who operate on our behalf, under contract.
‘They will identify the relevant country and apply to obtain details from the relevant national licensing agency.’
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