In this guide
If you feel that have been wrongly issued a fine for driving in London’s newly-expanded Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), you can challenge it. Our consumer champion tells you how.
ULEZ was introduced by London mayor Sadiq Khan in April 2019 as an anti-pollution measure to discourage owners of the oldest and dirtiest cars from driving in the capital. Last year alone, it generated more than £224 million for Transport for London (TfL), according to official figures.
The zone was expanded to cover the whole of London in late August 2023. In response to a Freedom of Information request, TfL stated that in the 12 months prior, more than £50 million in revenue was generated from around 6 million fines – the rest coming from the daily £12.50 charge.
But according to penalty adjudicator, London Tribunals, a third of those who appealed a ULEZ fine, had it overturned. The majority of successful cases were won because the driver was wrongly issued the penalty in the first place.
In this article, I cover:
- What are the ways to pay the ULEZ charge?
- How much is a ULEZ fine?
- Can I challenge a ULEZ fine?
- How do I appeal a ULEZ fine?
- How can I complain about a TfL decision?
Read more: What is ULEZ and is my car compliant?
What are the ways to pay the ULEZ charge
ULEZ charging operates 24 hours a day, midnight to midnight, every day of the year (except Christmas day) and is in operation across all London boroughs and the City of London.
You can find out here whether your destination is within the charging zone.
Even if you stray into the zone for a short time and your vehicle doesn’t meet the emissions standard, you will have to pay the the £12.50 daily charge.
Residents living within ULEZ are not exempt. Although if you park your car inside the zone, but you don’t drive it, you will not have to pay on that particular day.
You have until midnight on the third day following your journey to pay the charge or if you know that you will be heading into ULEZ you can pay up to 90 days in advance.
You can pay online or set up Auto Pay, which will bill you automatically every month for any ULEZ, LEZ or Congestion charges that you may owe.
Or you can pay by phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:
- UK: 0343 222 2222 (TfL call charges)
- International:+44 343 222 2222
- Textphone: 020 7649 9123 (if you have impaired hearing)
If you do not pay in time, you could be hit with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).
How much is a ULEZ fine?
You could be issued a PCN if your vehicle does not meet the ULEZ emissions standards and you:
- Haven’t paid the correct charge by midnight on the third charging day after travelling in the zone
- Are not exempt or registered for a 100% discount
- Paid the charge for an incorrect number plate or incorrect day of travel
- Paid by post less than 10 days before your date of travel
| Vehicle | Weight | Penalty charge | If paid within 14 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars, vans, motorcycles, motor tricycles and mopeds | Up to and including 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight | £180 | £90 |
| Motor caravans Ambulances | 2.5 – 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight | £180 | £90 |
| Minibuses (with more than 8 passenger seats) | 5 tonnes or less gross vehicle weight | £180 | £90 |
You’ve got 28 days to cough up. Failure to do so results in the issuing of a ‘charge certificate’ – that’ll be £270. Yikes.
How to pay a ULEZ fine?
If you do not want to challenge your ULEZ fine you can pay online, via the TfL ‘Pay to drive in London’ app or by post at:
Ultra Low Emission Zone
PO Box 553
Darlington DL1 9TZ
If you want to check out the current status of your PCN, including how much you have left to pay or any other information, you can check out view your PCN.
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Can I challenge a ULEZ fine?
Yes, if you believe that you have been wrongly issued a PCN for ULEZ you can appeal the fine. In fact, chances of success are pretty high.
In the first six months that ULEZ was introduced back in 2019, almost 19,000 of the 300,000 fines issued were successfully appealed, according to a Freedom of Information request.
Figures from London Tribunal show that in both 2019/20 and 2020/21, just under 40 per cent of the closed congestion zone and Ulez appeals were upheld.
What are the most common ULEZ fine complaints?
It’s fair to say that ULEZ has been exceptionally controversial. The ULEZ has been expanded across all of London’s boroughs from Enfield in the north to Croydon in the south, Hillingdon in the west, and Havering in the east.
Cameras have been vandalised and protests have been taking place, but the charge is in operation, like it or not.
So what are people complaining about?
- Disputes over whether your vehicle is ULEZ compliant
- Being charged despite having paid the charge
- Registering for autopay and still getting charged
- Disputes over unclear ULEZ boundary zones and wonky cameras
- Technical errors (people being fined due to technical problems and mistakes)
How can I appeal a ULEZ fine?
Approaching a ULEZ complaint is similar to appealing a parking fine. In order to succeed, you have to turn detective and gather your evidence.
As a general rule, take screenshots of any payments or autopay confirmations when you make them. Readers are telling me that these have proved invaluable where records of payments are missing, for whatever reason.
Don’t forget that you can use bank, credit card or e-payment services to prove that money has left your account too. If a payment hasn’t been taken, then ask TfL if anyone else has reported problems that day. Even if the answer is no, ask TfL to confirm this in writing as part of your complaint.
If you are disputing the visibility of cameras or boundary lines, then it would be a good idea to return to the ‘scene of the crime’ and take some photographs. If anything has obscured the ULEZ warning signs or cameras are damaged so they might not be giving clear or correct images, again take some snaps.
But please be careful if you do this.
Pop online as well to see if anyone else is reporting similar problems. There are forums, Facebook groups and community groups aplenty where people share this sort of information but watch out for some of the more bonkers ones!
If you’ve just made an honest mistake, it’s worth reporting that too. Explain your personal circumstances and see if anyone at TfL is feeling benevolent.
If you are disputing that your vehicle is subject to the charge, then start by checking before you dispute the fine.
How can I complain about a TfL decision?
If you want to make a complaint then you have 28 days to file it. You can get started online and you can also make your complaint in writing to: Congestion Charging, PO Box 340, Darlington, DL1 9PZ.
If you register on time the fine should be frozen while the matter is investigated.
Should the complaint be rejected, you’ll be sent a ‘notice of rejection and a form to appeal, along with the details of the independent Road User Charging Adjudicators (RUCA).
Failing that, you could take your complaint to the London Tribunal. It’s worth doing to, as just under half of appeals succeeded in 2020/21.
TfL should address your complaint within 10 working days. Ask for a written response in case you want to take it to the next level. The response will give you an address where you can appeal.
Take some time to tackle the points that TfL have raised in their initial decision. You can ask them for clarity too if anything doesn’t make make sense. That’s another 10 working days. Failing that, there’s one last final review which takes… you guessed it, 10 days.
If you’re still not happy, you can go to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO). Write to them here: The Local Government Ombudsman, PO Box 4771, Coventry, CV4 0EH
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