Citizens residing in the European Union are facing challenges in settling fines sent by Transport for London (TFL), with penalties ranging from £1000 to £6000 or more. The concern lies not only in the imposed fines but also in the alleged fraudulent acquisition of data and the treatment of London’s visitors as lucrative targets.
Upon delving into the matter, TFL is accused of unlawfully obtaining data concerning millions of drivers from the European Union, issuing penalties to nearly all those who recently visited London. This situation particularly affects individuals traveling from countries like Spain, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, as residents of these regions are required to obtain permission to visit Britain post-Brexit.
Some visitors regard these penalties as a blatant violation of basic human rights, asserting that Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) fines are being applied without practical violation.
In recent weeks, the Transport authority of London, led by Sadiq Khan, has issued over 316,000 penalty charging notices to visitors arriving in London by vehicle. One such case involves a French driver who received a staggering £25,000 penalty for allegedly violating Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and ULEZ rules while driving a minibus.
According to an exclusive report by The Guardian, more than 100 French drivers and over 60 lorry owners from the Netherlands are contemplating legal action against TFL. They claim that TFL purchased data from Euro Parking Collection centers to impose hefty penalties on vehicles that, despite emitting very low emissions, were deemed non-compliant with ULEZ rules.
A subset of affected individuals argues that penalties were erroneously issued based on 2021 data, even though they had since transitioned to electric vehicles.
In response, Transport for London (TFL) asserts that any instances of wrongly issued notices, if reported promptly, will be addressed through legal channels and rectified accordingly.
