My brother-in-law has received 200 penalty charge notices (PCNs) for unpaid ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) charges in London.
He set up an auto pay account for his non-Ulez-compliant van, but because of a series of blunders has paid £11,445 in fines, owes another £1,400, and is facing bills for 70 more fines after losing his appeals.
It began last December when his auto pay account was suspended and PCNs began arriving. The account was reinstated by TfL with a different spelling of his surname, so his appeals of his PCNs were refused because he was deemed to be a “third party”.
TfL has refused to let him pay the debts through an individual voluntary arrangement. He has dyslexia and a serious chronic autoimmune disease triggered by stress. His mental health is at the point where he has mentioned suicide.
LM, London
It seems misunderstandings, miscommunication and panic has caused your brother-in-law’s situation to spiral out of control.
TfL insists it informed him of alternative ways to pay when his auto pay account was suspended over a disputed payment last December. In a recorded call to customer services in February, he was told that his appeals against the PCNs were rejected because the misspelled surname suggested he was an invalid third party.
TfL subsequently 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.
All the while, the PCNs continued to come thick and fast and he lacked the funds to keep up with payments.
It is the responsibility of drivers to ensure they pay all official charges due. It is not in dispute that your brother failed for many reasons to do so on multiple occasions, so I believe the PCNs were technically legitimate.
Ethically, I’m not so sure. It seems that TfL’s system obstructed rather than helped him. TfL, when informed of his deteriorating mental health, hastily cancelled all outstanding PCNs, which removes the terror of never-ending debt, but not the hole in the family finances from the thousands already paid. His auto pay is now active again.
“We will always try and support people who are struggling to pay penalty charges,” said a spokesperson. “We have been in contact with him and have agreed to accept the amount he has paid to resolve the matter.”
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