A French driver has been handed fines totalling nearly £25,000 for driving in London’s low-emissions zone, even though his minibus was exempt from the emissions charge.
Fernando Neiva, who runs a transport service for French tourists to the UK, has received 12 fines of £2,000 each after one of his drivers entered the Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) and three fines totalling over £700 for breaching Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez) rules after visits to London last October and November.
The schemes require vehicles that do not meet current emissions standards to pay a charge to enter the capital. Drivers who fail to do so face fines of up to £3,000 a day. Since Neiva’s vehicle complied with the standards, his company did not pay the fee.
Neiva is one of thousands of EU drivers caught out by a little-known requirement to pre-register their vehicles with Transport for London (TfL). Those who fail to do so have their vehicles classified by default as high emission.
The minibus, registered to Neiva’s company, JD Limousine, and driven by his associate, Jayson Bachubira, was erroneously classed as a heavy diesel vehicle in breach of the LEZ and also held liable for Ulez charges levied on smaller, older vehicles.
Last year, TfL’s collection agency, Euro Parking Collection (EPC), gained access to driver records in Germany, France and the Netherlands, and thousands of motorists have since received fines for trips up to a year ago.
Owing to postal and processing delays, most have missed the option of an early payment discount by the time they receive the PCNs. In many cases, the fine has doubled because it was not received within the 28-day payment deadline.
This week the Guardian revealed that a French driver was fined nearly £11,000 after he attended his son’s wedding in London in an emissions-compliant car. A group of drivers in France is planning legal class action against TfL after receiving large fines without being given the option of proving compliance.
A total of 18,962 Ulez penalty charge notices (PCNs) were issued to owners of foreign-registered cars between January and September last year.
Neiva challenged the fines six months ago and submitted proof that his van was exempt from emissions charges but said he received a response only a month ago that his appeal was being considered. When he later registered his vehicle, TfL acknowledged that it was exempt from charges, but his PCNs were only cancelled after the Guardian’s intervention.
Neiva said: “It’s just a small company and [we] try to go by the rules. So, that was super scary, especially when you know you’ve respected the rules.”
Bachubira added: “The wait is frustrating, especially when there is no answers from them and you continue to receive the PCNs, which keep increasing.”
TfL told the Guardian that overseas drivers have been required to register their vehicles since 2008. A spokesperson said: “The evidence that Mr Neiva provided should have resulted in all the outstanding charges being cancelled immediately. We apologise for any distress caused and have rescinded the outstanding fines that were not originally cancelled when the evidence was first provided.”
It claims that fines will be cancelled if drivers can prove that their vehicles are compliant. The fines of two other drivers were also cancelled after intervention from the Guardian.
However, drivers who have contacted the Guardian said they have been told by TfL that the government body is powerless to overturn PCNs and referred them to EPC. EPC has not responded to requests for a comment.
Earlier this week, a legal challenge to the expansion of the Ulez by Conservative councils was permitted to proceed.
On Friday, Khan said: “I think it’s important for these Conservative councillors who’ve got concerns … if they want to challenge this in the courts, [they] are free to do so – I think it’s a waste of taxpayers’ money. Local residents would rather these be used on the libraries.”
• This article was amended on 17 April 2023. An earlier version said that London’s Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) and Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez) were introduced by London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan. The LEZ was introduced in 2008, when Ken Livingstone was mayor; plans for the Ulez were put in place by Boris Johnson in 2015, and introduced by Khan in 2019.
