Man Falsely Charged for ULEZ Fees Due to Camera Error

A resident of Suffolk has recounted his experience of being wrongly charged five times for London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) despite not visiting the capital on the dates in question. The errors stemmed from a misreading of his vehicle's license plate by Transport for London (TfL) cameras.

The driver, who had registered his car with TfL and set up an autopay feature, noticed charges appearing on his bank statement that he couldn't account for. Upon investigation, he discovered images from TfL's cameras showing a vehicle entering the ULEZ zone on specific dates. The vehicle pictured was not his own; the only difference was a single letter in the license plate, where a 'G' had been misread as a 'C'. His car, a Volvo XC40 estate, was also a different model from the pictured vehicle, which was a 4x4.

He attempted to appeal the charges, but TfL's policy limits refunds to a 90-day window. As a result, only the two most recent charges could be refunded. The driver noted that while automated systems are intended to simplify processes, they are susceptible to errors, just as human systems can be. He also found that a chargeback through his credit card provider was not an option because the ULEZ charge was processed as a direct debit.

When contacted by This is Money, TfL explained that the 90-day limit for disputes is in place to comply with data protection laws, as vehicle data and images are deleted after this period. However, in light of the circumstances, TfL agreed to refund all five charges, totaling £37.50. To prevent future misidentifications, the driver's vehicle has been added to a list of number plates that require manual verification by staff when flagged by cameras.