British retiree in France refunded after paying £2,100 to drive in Ulez

A British retiree in France has been refunded £2,100 after he was charged for driving in London within the Low Emission Zone (Lez) system, which appears to have treated his Range Rover as a lorry resulting in an exorbitant fee.

Ian Senior, 68, was only alerted to the massive charge when his UK bank account was debited by Transport for London (TfL), which manages the system, in April 2024.

He says his bank failed to halt the transaction, leaving Mr Senior to negotiate with TfL for the return of his money.

The issue has highlighted the importance of owners of non-UK-plated vehicles registering these with TfL partner body Euro Parking Collection (EPC) before a trip to London, to make sure only the correct amount is paid.

Mr Senior had travelled to the UK for a week in spring, having signed up on TfL’s website for an ‘autopay’ system, which includes providing bank card details. It is also possible to make direct online payments for the current day, the following day or three previous days.

The daily price should have been £12.50 (£87.50 for seven days) for a car that does not meet certain low-emission standards.

The £2,100 fee he paid suggests the automated system mistook his Land Rover for a large lorry, which can cost £300 a day if it falls into the most polluting category and is circulating in the city’s Lez. 

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What are Ulez and Lez?

Since summer 2023, the boundaries of the Lez are roughly the same as the Ulez (Ultra Low Emissions Zone), which applies to cars and other lighter vehicles.

“I thought I had done everything right,” Mr Senior said. “And then when I saw the mistake I thought it could be sorted out quickly: they made a simple mistake, got my vehicle category wrong, and so would send me my money back. I applied for a refund in May, but they said it is so much money that they passed me onto a different service.”

TfL told Mr Senior to settle the issue with EPC, however he said he called it several times, so far without success. “I can’t imagine how difficult this system would be for someone who does not speak English. The whole thing needs to be redesigned,” he added.

After The Connexion raised the issue with TfL in July, he was refunded in full. “Thanks a lot Connexion! You deserve a pat on the back,” he said.

It appears the issue arose after Mr Senior set up the payment system but did not separately register his vehicle for the Ulez system with EPC. We consider that wording we saw on the sites of TfL and EPC was ambiguous, suggesting in some places that it should be done where you believe your vehicle meets the low-emissions standards, which was not the case here. 

However, TfL said it must be done for foreign-plated vehicles whether or not they meet them. It said it would review the wording, but it had sought to publicise the requirements as widely as possible, including working with ports and ferry companies. Registration can be done here.

A TfL spokesperson said: “As the DVLA can only provide data on UK registered vehicles, we are unable to automatically tell if non-UK registered vehicles are compliant with the Ulez. That’s why we ask drivers of vehicles to pre-register for the Ulez. Registering also means that a non-compliant vehicle will pay the correct charge amount.

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“We are sorry for any distress caused to Mr Senior. It is clear that after contacting us we have not processed his refund request fast enough and we will ensure the payment is sent to him promptly.”

TfL’s website states registration can take 10 working days and you should wait for a confirmation email, however, an EPC spokesman said about five days before is enough. “We then process the information and forward it to TfL. We are more familiar with European registration documents. Then if people register with us, they should appeal through us in case of any problems.”

This is not the first time that the Ulez system has run into controversy.

Lawyers for some 100 France-based drivers who were sent large fines at their French addresses for entering Ulez and Lez low-emissions zones are awaiting a decision from the French public prosecutor over accusations that their data was accessed illicitly – there is no official data sharing between France and the UK on car number plates.

France’s data protection agency, Cnil, is also looking into the subject as are agencies in some other EU countries.