TfL gets tough on ULEZ fine non-payers

But TfL said a ‘cohort’ of people who refuse to pay multiple penalty charge notices (PCNs) meant a significant amount of debt remains outstanding, which could be reinvested into improving the transport network for the benefit of all Londoners.

In July, a driver with 45 warrants against them was traced by TfL agents to a new address. They claimed that they no longer owned the vehicle, but TfL’s investigations team established that the PCNs were received before the vehicle was sold. The driver settled the balance of almost £16,000. Another repeat offender with 21 warrants against their vehicle was visited multiple times by TfL enforcement agents and made a series of payments to settle their outstanding debt of over £7,800.

The London ULEZ was expanded across all London boroughs in August 2023 in a move that saw a backlash from motorists in outer London and led to a High Court case by five Conservative-run councils in which it was ultimately ruled as lawful. The expanded rollout was supported by a £210m scrappage scheme, accessed by around 54,700 applicants.

TfL is now tripling the number of people in its investigations team to boost the work with bailiffs to target those in non-compliant vehicles that refuse to pay the daily charges.

Alex Williams, TfL’s chief customer and strategy officer, said: “We want to send a clear message to vehicle owners that if you receive a penalty charge for driving in the zone, you should not ignore it. Your penalty will progress to enforcement agents to recover the fines that you owe and there is a risk that your vehicle and other items of property will be removed.

“The aim of the ULEZ is to clean up London’s air and remove old polluting cars from the road so no drivers need to pay and no fines occur. There is only a small minority of drivers who are eligible for the charge, and even fewer who are refusing to pay – but we encourage anyone experiencing financial difficulties not to ignore PCNs, and to engage with our staff, who will work with you towards a resolution, including setting up debt payment plans.”

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