ULEZ Fines Wrongly Issued Due to Number Plate Errors, Say Car Experts

Car experts have sounded the alarm, revealing that hundreds of innocent drivers are being slapped with charges and fines in error while driving within London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

Over the past three months, VRM Swansea’s Plates4Less team has fielded a surge of inquiries from concerned drivers who received unjust ULEZ charges. The team has been actively assisting clients in challenging and overturning these fines, asserting that many were wrongly issued.

The ULEZ, recently expanded to cover a larger area in Greater London within the M25 motorway, imposes emissions-based charges on owners of non-compliant vehicles. Although introduced in 2015, the scheme took effect in September 2020.

In June alone, around 4,000 ULEZ fines were issued daily. Experts at Plates4Less contend that many of these fines were unjust due to delays in Transport for London (TfL) updating their vehicle database from DVLA records, which accurately link number plates to vehicle details.

The experts argue that if TfL updated their records daily, they would correctly identify compliant vehicles. However, the current system relies on a basic non-DVLA database, which determines a vehicle’s age based on the age indicator on the number plate. If the plate suggests an older vehicle (prior to 2006 for petrol cars and 2015 for diesel cars), a charge is automatically issued, leading to incorrect fines.

To assist motorists in challenging these unjust fines, the number plate and motoring experts at VRM Swansea’s Plates4Less have created a helpful template. This template can be used to contest charges or fines stemming from a mistaken ULEZ violation, not only with TfL but with any relevant authority.

Antony Clark, of Plates4Less, explained: “As a trusted supplier of private number plates, people often come to us with their questions, and we’re happy to help. We have found that Transport for London is not updating their vehicles database from DVLA records often enough”.

“We contacted TFL on behalf of our clients and were pleased to discover that there’s a super easy fix to this issue. As long as people send Transport for London a copy of their V5 Registration Certificate when they get a charge, TfL should be able to investigate and cancel the charges and any subsequent fine.”

Antony assured: “We’ve included an email template for challenging inaccurate charges in our free guide, alongside other useful information about ULEZ and Clean Air zones.”

The guide includes an email template for challenging inaccurate charges, along with other valuable information about ULEZ and Clean Air zones. You can access the guide online at www.plates4less.co.uk/ulez.

“The issue remains that the system isn’t perfect and the database updates slowly, which is why some motorists who are driving compliant vehicles are receiving charges and fines that they shouldn’t be. This solution proposed by Plates4Less should allow Transport for London to update their files, solving the problem.

“At Plates4Less, we’ve seen the many ways that a new number plate can benefit drivers, and ULEZ shouldn’t get in the way of that. We hope our guide will help motorists understand how to navigate ULEZ, and avoid unnecessary fines.”

VRM Swansea – Plates4Less is a well-established agency for buyers and sellers of private number plates in the UK, boasting over 65 million registrations on its books and a highly advanced smart search engine to help clients find the perfect plate. Operating since 1997, the company holds more 5-star Trustpilot reviews than any other agency in its field. Despite its name, Plates4Less holds the UK record for negotiating the sale of the most expensive private plate to date in the United Kingdom, exceeding £600,000 in 2022.

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