Transport for London promises to get tough on drivers who evade ULEZ penalty charges

Transport for London (TfL) has pledged to get tough on motorists who don’t pay fines for driving in the Ultra Low Emission Zone in non-compliant vehicles.

It says a “cohort of people” are refusing to pay Penalty Collection Notices (PCNs), which has resulted in a “significant amount” of outstanding debt since the zone was expanded last August.

He will tackle the problem with a campaign to recruit people to work in his investigative team so he can increase the use of bailiffs and wheel clamps to target repeat offenders.

TfL is to triple the size of its investigative team to increase enforcement of non-payment of ultra-low emission penalty charges, which will see increased use of bailiffs and wheel clamps

TfL said enforcement officers have already recovered £25.6m in outstanding debt from drivers who have refused to pay penalties over the past year.

It has also seized more than 1,400 vehicles from “persistent defaulters” in the past 12 months and generated more than £700,000 from the sale of their engines.

It now plans to triple the size of its research team to “strengthen work with the bodies to target polluting vehicles that refuse to pay daily charges”.

Doing so will also increase the use of other enforcement measures, including the ability of bailiffs to visit a defaulter’s address, impound vehicles and seize engines before selling them at auction to recover debts .

“This is in addition to the additional fees that evaders accrue when they fail to pay the fine within the legal deadline,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

The increased enforcement of ULEZ charges is despite TfL’s claims that “more than 96 per cent” of vehicles driving in the area meet emissions standards.

There has been a dramatic increase in reports of motorists using tactics to evade the £12.50 a day ULEZ charge and refusals to pay PCNs issued for failed payments since Mayor Sadiq Khan expanded the zone on 29 of August 2023 to cover all the municipalities of the capital. .

Penalties for non-payment of charges amount to £180, although this is halved to £90 if paid within a fortnight.

If the registered owner of a vehicle fails to pay the PCN, it is recorded as an unpaid debt and an order is issued for its recovery.

This will result in a court order being issued and an enforcement action to recover outstanding costs.

If a motorist chooses to ignore a warrant, bailiffs are sent to the registered owner’s address to recover the money owed.

Drivers identified as persistent defaulters to ULEZ PCNS may have their vehicles impounded. Cars can be sold at auction to recover outstanding debt

ULEZ evader received £16,000 bill for unpaid PCNs

In July, TfL officers located a driver with 45 warrants against them at a new address, the department said.

They claimed they no longer owned the vehicle, but TfL’s investigation team established that the PCNs were received before the vehicle was sold.

The driver settled his balance which had risen to almost £16,000.

Another repeat offender with 21 warrants against his vehicle was visited several times by TfL enforcement officers and made a series of payments to settle his outstanding debt of more than £7,800, it said.

The increased enforcement of ULEZ charges comes despite TfL’s claims that “more than 96%” of vehicles driving in the area meet the emissions standards required to avoid the £12.50 a day charge.

Enforcement agents also have the power to seize the debtor’s personal belongings and use the proceeds to satisfy any outstanding debt.

In August, a car was located, impounded and removed after ignoring ten orders.

The driver in question had received a total of 43 letters and had been visited by emergency five times before.

Between August 2023 and July 2024, 1,429 cars were seized and removed by bailiffs.

Some 761 of these engines – more than half (53%) – were sent to auction.

They generated a total of £710,147, which TfL said went towards debts accumulated in the last 12 months.

Alex Williams, chief customer and strategy director at TfL, said: “We want to send a clear message to vehicle owners that if you receive a penalty for driving in the area, you shouldn’t ignore it.

“Your penalty will go to enforcement officers to recover the fines you owe, and there is a risk that your vehicle and other property items will be repossessed.”

While TfL promises to get tough on repeat offenders, it is also set to launch a pilot scheme to offer more support to vulnerable penalty charge recipients in the coming months.

The scheme will include new guidance for TfL staff to help those experiencing difficulties, including referring them to a partner organization offering financial guidance.