My brother-in-law received 200 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) for an unpaid ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) accuses in London.
He created auto pay the bill for your non-compliant Ulez van, but due to a series of errors paid £11,445 in fines, owed a further £1,400 and was hit with bills for a further 70 fines after losing appeals.
It started last December when he auto payment account was suspended and PCNs started arriving. The account has been restored TfL with a different spelling of the surname, so his appeals to the PCN were rejected because he was considered a “third party”.
TfL refused to let him pay his debts through individual voluntary arrangement. He has dyslexia and a serious chronic autoimmune disease caused by stress. His mental health is at the level where he mentioned suicide.
LM, London
It seems miscommunication, miscommunication and panic have caused your son-in-law's situation to spiral out of control.
TfL claims it informed him of alternative payment methods when his autopay account was blocked due to a disputed payment in December last year. In a recorded call to customer service in February, he was told his appeals against PCN had been rejected because his misspelled last name suggested he was an invalid third party.
TfL subsequently corrected its error. Another post from this summer shows how hard he tried to create an affordable payment plan, but was repeatedly given conflicting information.
During this time, PCNs continued to come in thick and fast, and he lacked the funds to keep up with payments.
Drivers are responsible for paying all official fees due. There is no doubt that your brother repeatedly failed to do so for many reasons, which is why I believe the PCNs were technically legal.
From an ethical point of view, I'm not so sure. The TfL system appears to have hindered rather than helped him. TfL, upon learning of his deteriorating mental health, hastily canceled all outstanding PCNs, eliminating the horror of endless debt but not the hole in the family finances from the thousands already paid out. His autopay is now active again.
“We will always try to support people who are struggling to pay fines,” the spokesman said. “We contacted him and agreed to accept the amount he paid to resolve the matter.”
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