Thousands of penalty tickets issued to motorists for apparently failing to pay the Mayor’s central London pollution levy have been overturned on appeal.
A total of 18,927 appeals, challenging the £160 fines issued for the ultra low emission zone, inset, have been allowed by Transport for London by the end of September.
However, the biggest number have been for rental vehicles — meaning the ticket is then re-issued to the hirer or hire company, depending on their contracted agreement.
The second most common reason for challenging a fine is when the motorist claims the vehicle meets the Ulez emission rules. This can be because the engine or exhaust has been modified without TfL’s knowledge.
Moneysavingexpert.com used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain figures showing that of the 46,438 appeals submitted by the end of September, 18,927 were accepted and 17,955 rejected, with the rest ongoing.
About one in five penalty tickets are being challenged and the appeal success rate is similar to that over penalties for parking, bus lane and “yellow box” offences.
The Ulez had raised about £41 million by the end of August in levies and fines. A total of 306,925 tickets had been issued by the end of September. Cars and vans with “dirty” engines pay £12.50 and HGVs £100.
The scheme, introduced by Sadiq Khan, has cut NO2 levels by 31 per cent.
Steve Nowottny, of moneysavingexpert.com, said appeals should include “all relevant evidence”.
TfL said there was an “easy process” to raise any concerns about fines.
