I live in the newly expanded ultra-low emission zone and, since I own a 19-year-old car that is not compliant, I applied for a grant to replace it under Transport for London’s scrappage scheme. I am now on my fifth application in four weeks! The reasons for refusal range from vague to ridiculous. The first rejection letter claimed my V5C document was incomplete. When I rang for clarification, it turned out that the scan, while including the full page, didn’t show the edges of the paper.
The second rejection was because although I’d scanned my insurance documents, some of the pages didn’t include the company logo. In the third, I was wrongly informed that my car had a Statutory Off-Road Notification (Sorn) and was therefore not taxed, something they could have checked on the DVLA website. The other rejections were due to the V5C being in my maiden name. I had spoken to TfL customer services about this in advance and had been advised to send in my marriage certificate with my application. As there is nowhere to upload your marriage certificate in the application process, I had to upload it in the same pdf as my V5C.
Each rejection is for a new reason that wasn’t flagged on my previous applications and I’m worried the fund will run out before I’m successful. I have to use my car daily to take my daughter to school and to do my job. I can’t afford £12.50 each day to get to work and can’t afford to replace my car without the grant. I’m losing sleep with the worry.
JR, Kingston upon Thames
The TfL scrappage scheme offers a £2,000 grant to eligible applicants who want to replace their car with a vehicle that complies with Ulez levels. The scheme was only opened to all Londoners in August, eight days before Ulez was extended to the outer boroughs. Since applications require an average turn around of 10 working days, this left financially strapped drivers unable to replace their cars before the £12.50 daily charge kicked in.
In your case, you applied within 10 minutes of the scheme opening and it was a five-week wait before your claim was finally accepted, in which time you racked up Ulez charges of more than £320. Your experience suggests that the application process is not fit for purpose. The guidance makes no mention of marriage or deed poll certificates for those who have changed their name since buying their car and it’s extraordinary that there is nowhere on the web form to include these.
This oversight has cost you two weeks of extra charges. The website does specify that pages must be scanned in full, which you say yours were, but not that the edges of the paper must be visible or that a company logo must appear. Logos are not always printed on every page of insurance policies.
Other applicants also seem to have been stalled by confused bureaucracy. Figures from TfL show that only a third of applications have been approved, with incomplete paperwork the principle reason for rejection.
TfL admitted that its service to you fell short. A spokesperson said: “We aim to accept or decline scrappage applications within 10 working days and have a robust process in place to verify the documents we receive as part of our measures to guard against fraud. We apologise for the delay in processing JR’s application.” I’d be interested to hear from anyone else who has had problems getting a valid application accepted.
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