ULEZ CAMERAS IN LONDON ARE FINING YHE WRONG DRIVERS, MOTORISTS CLAIM

One driver claims his son was fined even though his car was in Manchester

Motorists claim they are being fined for not paying their Ulez charge by cameras that have wrongly identified their cars as being within the zone.

One driver received a fine even though his car was parked in Manchester, hundreds of miles away from where cameras claimed it to be and was a completely different make and model to the one seen in the 'proof' photograph.

Meanwhile another driver found himself receiving a dreaded fine after part of his number plate matched that of another vehicle that drove through the Ulez zone, confusing the system.

The latest examples come within days of a humiliating defeat for TfL after it admitted wrongfully fining a motorist for using his car in London - despite having donated it to the Ukraine army.

As reported by MailOnline on Monday, Charles Cooper, 65, drove his Volvo SUV more than 1,400 miles to donate his car to a Ukrainian charity last August only to discover that just two months later it had been fined for being driven in a Ulez area in London.

The chartered accountant was on holiday in Greece at the time of the alleged incident and when he returned home in January he discovered a pile of scathing letters from Transport for London.

TfL had threatened to take him to court and appoint bailiffs if he didn't pay the fine, forcing Mr Cooper to spend over £300 on lawyers to fight the case.

But in a U-turn this week, the Greater London Council body told MailOnline the charge 'was issued in error' and apologised to Mr Cooper 'for any distress caused' after cancelling the fine.

Mr Cooper, who is the former chief executive of BRI Wealth Management, said he was sent photographs by TfL, allegedly showing his car driving in a Ulez area on October 10.

However, he disputed that it was his car in the pictures, not only because he had donated it to the Ukrainian army in August, but also because the number plate of the car did not appear to be his.

In the latest examples, motorists reported similar errors being made.

Retired designer Arthur Bailey complained to TfL after his son received a Ulez fine for driving his Ford Mondeo through London, even though he lives in Manchester and the photograph showed a different vehicle.

Mr Bailey told The Telegraph: 'The vehicle in the photograph, the 'proof' of the alleged crime, was clearly a completely different vehicle, possibly a Nissan SUV and certainly not the Mondeo he owned which had never been within 100 miles of London.'

TfL subsequently waived the fine after establishing the plate on Mr Bailey's car had been cloned.

In another instance, Bromley resident Hugh Blanchard found he was receiving fines because another vehicle's number plate was similar to his own - but the correct car's number plate was partly obscured at the time it was captured by the Ulez camera.

He said: 'I use auto-pay for my car and so this confusion over the plates means I'm getting automatically charged for a vehicle that isn't mine.'

Sadiq Khan's Ulez scheme, which requires people to pay a £12.50 daily charge for driving non-compliant vehicles, was first introduced five years ago.

Last year it was expanded to cover the whole of Greater London, sparking a furious backlash among drivers and so-called 'Blade Runner' activists tearing the cameras down.

Motorists have previously flagged that they are being handed fines for offences they did not commit.

Partab Singh, 35, from Leicester saw his bank account deducted five times after Ulez cameras misread the details of other cars - confusing the digits for those on his private plate.

Between October and December, the BMW owner paid Ulez charges for a Renault and a Mercedes-Benz as they had similar - though not identical - number plates.

He told MailOnline: 'It's ridiculous, I've never had any issues with that number plate before registering for ULEZ. It makes no sense, why is the newest camera network in Britain also the worst?

'The cameras and technology in place are clearly not working and fit for purpose. Why do I keep getting charged when I live in Leicester and generally only travel within the Midlands?

'They should not have introduced the system which cost taxpayers millions until it had been tested thoroughly.'

Meanwhile, in October almost 1,000 motorists in Harrow, north west London were unjustly fined because the ULEZ camera had been installed pointing the wrong way and was catching drivers skirting outside the zone.

MailOnline has contacted TfL for comment.

2024-04-17T01:29:34Z dg43tfdfdgfd