TfL recoups £25.6m from non-payment of ULEZ fines

Debt totalling £25.6m has been collected for the non-payment of Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) fines in London over the past 12 months, Transport for London (TfL) has reported.

In a crackdown on persistent evaders, TfL has tripled the number of people in its investigations team, allowing enforcement agents to make more visits to an evader's address, resulting in the removal of a vehicle and its sale at auction.

In the past year more than 1,400 vehicles have been seized, with over £700,000 recouped by the sale of vehicles belonging to persistent non-payers, TfL figures show.

Any income generated from the ULEZ scheme is being reinvested back into public transport, including improving bus routes in outer London, said TfL, pointing out that the scheme is not designed to generate revenue, with the emphasis instead on achieving high compliance.

This is backed up, by new data that shows more than 96% of vehicles seen driving in the zone comply with the emissions standards, meaning most drivers do not need to pay the daily charge, said Alex Williams, TfL's Chief Customer and Strategy Officer.

“We want to send a clear message to vehicle owners that if you receive a penalty charge for driving in the zone, you should not ignore it. Your penalty will progress to enforcement agents to recover the fines that you owe, and there is a risk that your vehicle and other items of property will be removed,” said Williams.

“The aim of the ULEZ is to clean up London's air and remove old polluting cars from the road so no drivers need to pay and no fines occur. There is only a small minority of drivers who are eligible for the charge, and even fewer who are refusing to pay - but we encourage anyone experiencing financial difficulties not to ignore PCNs, and to engage with our staff, who will work with you towards a resolution, including setting up debt payment plans.”

The introduction of the London-wide ULEZ in August 2023 was supported by a £210m scrappage scheme, open to all Londoners, small businesses, and charities with non-compliant vehicles. The scheme has seen funding committed to around 54,700 applicants to help them transition to cleaner, greener modes of transport and avoid paying the daily charge, said TfL.

Enforcing against ULEZ fine evaders

If no charge is paid for a non-compliant vehicle within three days of the journey taking place with the ULEZ, a penalty charge notice (PCN) is sent to the registered keeper. If a vehicle's registered keeper does not pay the fine, it is registered as an unpaid debt and an order made for its recovery. If still not paid this leads to a Court-issued warrant, and enforcement action to recover the outstanding debt.

If a registered keeper ignores a warrant, bailiffs visit their address to recover money owed.

Enforcement agents also have the power to seize particular belongings of the debtor, and use the proceeds to satisfy any outstanding debt.

A pilot scheme to offer increased support to vulnerable recipients of penalty charges is set to be introduced, said TfL. The scheme will include new guidance for TfL staff to assist those experiencing hardship, such as referring to a partner organisation which provides financial guidance.