Transport for London (TfL) has vowed to get tough on motorists who do not pay fines for driving in the Ultra Low Emission Zone in non-compliant vehicles.
It says a ‘cohort of people’ are refusing to pay penalty charge notices (PCNs), which has resulted in ‘significant’ outstanding debt amounting to more than £370million.
It will tackle the issue with a recruitment drive for people working in its investigations team and use bailiffs and wheel clamps to target these repeat offenders.
TfL will triple the workforce in its investigations team to increase enforcement of non payment of Ultra Low Emissions penalty charges, which will see greater use of bailiffs and wheel clamps
TfL said enforcement agents have already recouped £25.6million in outstanding debt from drivers who have refused to pay penalties in the last year.
It has also seized more than 1,400 vehicles from ‘persistent non-payers’ in the last 12 months and and generated more than £700,000 from sales of their motors.
Yet latest figures show there is still £370million in outstanding debt from unpaid PCNs.
In a letter to Mayor Sadiq Khan, the London Assembly has called for the collection of these penalty charges to be ramped up to allow for investment into wider public transport services in the capital.
In the summer, Mr Khan refused to rule out sending in bailiffs to chase unpaid ULEZ fines after revealing that over a million PCNs were outstanding.
On Wednesday, TfL confirmed its plans to triple its workforce in its investigations team to ‘boost the work with enforcement agents to target those in polluting vehicles that refuse to pay the daily charges’.
By doing so it will also increase its use of other enforcement action, including the ability of bailiffs to visit an evader’s address, clamp vehicles, and seize motors before selling them at auction to recoup debts.
‘This is in addition to the further fees that evaders accrue when they do not pay the fine within the statutory time limit,’ it said in a statement on Wednesday.
The increased enforcement of ULEZ charges is despite TfL’s claims that ‘over 96 per cent’ of vehicles driving in the zone comply with the emissions standards.
There has been a dramatic rise in reports of motorists using tactics to evade the £12.50-a-day ULEZ charge and refusals to pay PCNs issued for failed payments since Mayor Khan expanded the zone on 29 August 2023 to cover every borough in the capital.
Penalties for non-payment of charges amount to £180 – though this is halved to £90 if paid within a fortnight.
If a vehicle’s registered keeper fails to pay the PCN, it is registered as an unpaid debt and an order made for its recovery.
This will then lead to a court-issued warrant, and enforcement action to recover the outstanding costs.
If a motorist chooses to ignore a warrant, bailiffs are sent to the address of the registered owner to recover money owed.
Motorists identified as persistently failing to pay ULEZ PCNS can have their vehicles seized. The cars can then be sold at auction to recover outstanding debt
ULEZ evader hit with £16,000 bill for unpaid PCNs
In July, a driver with 45 warrants against them was traced by TfL agents to a new address, the department said.
They claimed that they no longer owned the vehicle, but TfL’s investigations team established that the PCNs were received before the vehicle was sold.
The driver settled their balance which had risen to almost £16,000.
Another repeat offender with 21 warrants against their vehicle was visited multiple times by TfL enforcement agents and made a series of payments to settle their outstanding debt of over £7,800, it said.
The increased enforcement of ULEZ charges is despite TfL’s claims that ‘over 96%’ of vehicles comply with the emissions standards required to avoid the £12.50-a-day charge
Enforcement agents also have the power to seize particular belongings of the debtor, and use the proceeds to satisfy any outstanding debt.
In August, a car was located, seized and removed after ignoring ten warrants.
The driver in question had been issued with a total of 43 letters and been visited by bailiffs five times previously.
Between August 2023 and July 2024, 1,429 cars were seized and removed by bailiffs.
Some 761 of these motors – more than half (53 per cent) – were sent to auction.
They generated a combined £710,147, which TfL said has been put towards debts accrued in the last 12 months.
Alex Williams, TfL’s chief customer and strategy officer, said: ‘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.’
While TfL promises to get tough with repeat offenders, it is also set to launch a pilot scheme to offer increased support to vulnerable recipients of penalty charges in the coming months.
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.
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