ULEZ Charges Mysteriously Appear on London Driver's Account

A Suffolk resident has been incorrectly charged five times for entering London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), despite not visiting the capital on the days in question. The issue arose from a misreading of the vehicle's license plate by Transport for London's (TfL) automated camera system.

The reader, who had registered his car with TfL and set up an autopay feature, noticed a £12.50 ULEZ charge on his bank statement. Upon investigation, he discovered that images from TfL cameras showed a vehicle entering the zone on five separate occasions over the past year, all on days he had not been in London.

It was determined that TfL's cameras had mistaken the letter 'G' for a 'C' in his license plate, leading to the erroneous charges. The vehicle pictured was a different make and model, though similar in color and make to his own car. On one occasion, his vehicle was even reported to be outside of the country.

While the reader appealed the charges, only two were refunded due to TfL's 90-day limit for disputing recorded journeys. TfL's terms and conditions state that account holders are responsible for monitoring their own account activity and notifying them of any incorrect charges. The reader found he could not pursue a chargeback through his credit card provider as the ULEZ charge was paid via direct debit, nor could he appeal to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman without a final deadlock letter from TfL.

When contacted, TfL explained that the 90-day limit for disputing charges is in place to comply with data protection laws regarding the retention of vehicle data and images. However, in light of the circumstances, TfL has since refunded all five charges, totaling £37.50. The authority has also added the reader's vehicle to a list of number plates that have been misread, ensuring that future camera images will be manually checked by staff to prevent similar mix-ups.