ULEZ PCN Challenge – Should You Pay or Appeal?
Did you get a ULEZ Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) and you’re not sure what to do next? We’re here to help guide you. We’ve been trusted by over 130,000 people each month for advice on fines and parking tickets.
Did you know that Churchill Motor Insurance reported that in 2022, UK councils issued an average of 19,631 daily parking fines, a 12% increase from the previous year?1
We understand how frustrating it can be to receive a PCN. It can also be confusing to know how to handle it, but don’t worry; in this article, we’ll explain:
- What ULEZ is and why you might get a PCN.
- Whether you have to pay ULEZ fines right away.
- How much a ULEZ PCN might cost you.
- The steps for appealing a ULEZ PCN.
- The grounds you can use to appeal your ULEZ PCN.
We understand what you’re going through because we’ve been there too. So, let’s get into the details and help you figure out whether to pay or appeal your ULEZ PCN.
Most Appeals Succeed
In some circumstances, you might have a legitimate reason not to pay your fine.
It’s a bit sneaky, but the last time I needed legal advice, I paid £5 for a trial to chat with an online solicitor called JustAnswer.
Not only did I save £50 on solicitor feeds, I also won my case and didn’t have to pay my £271 fine.
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*Around 35,000 people dispute their tickets each year with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, and a striking 64% of those appeals are successful, so it’s well worth a try.
What is the ULEZ?
ULEZ stands for “Ultra Low Emissions Zone.” This is in place all the time, except on Christmas Day, to help improve the air quality in London.
At the moment, the area includes everything between the North and South Circular Roads. Both the North Circular Road (A406) and the South Circular Road (A205) are excluded from the zone.
You are required to pay the £12.50 daily levy even if you only drive your vehicle for a short distance inside the zone and your vehicle does not comply with the ULEZ emissions regulations. This covers those who live within the ULEZ. On the other hand, if you park your vehicle inside the zone and do not use it, you will not be required to pay the ULEZ fee.
Make sure you don’t confuse a penalty charge notice with a parking charge notice – both are confusingly called PCN. A parking charge notice is not legally enforceable.
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Why might you get a ULEZ penalty charge?
You may get a ULEZ PCN – which stands for penalty charge notice – if any of the following apply:
- Your vehicle does not meet the ULEZ emission standards
- You are not exempt or are registered for a 100% discount
- You haven’t paid the correct charge by midnight on the 3rd charging day after your journey in the ULEZ
- The vehicle licence plate or travel date was incorrect.
- You paid by post less than 10 days before you travelled in the zone.
Successful Appeal Case Study
Situation
| Initial Fine | £100 |
| Additional Fees | £171 |
| Total Fine | £271 |
The Appeal Process
Scott used JustAnswer, online legal service to enhance his appeal. The trial of this cost him just £5.
| Total Fine | £271 |
| Cost of legal advice | £5 |
JustAnswer helped Scott craft the best appeal possible and he was able to win his case.
Scott’s fine was cancelled and he only paid £5 for the legal help.
In partnership with Just Answer.
What is the appeals process for it?
If you have been given a ULEZ penalty charge notice, the first step that you need to take is to file your appeal on the website of Transport for London. You can also send your appeal in writing, but sending it online is faster.
If you act immediately, you will probably be able to freeze the payment period. This means that even if your appeal is denied, you will only be required to pay the minimal early payment charge rather than the entire charge for making a payment early.
In most cases, a notice of the fee for the penalty is delivered to the person who is listed as the registered keeper of the vehicle.
Because you can only start the appeals process within 28 days of getting the original notice of the penalty charge, it is very important that you send in your appeal as soon as possible.
Here’s a quick table summarizing the appeal process to help you understand everything better.
| Process: | Steps you should take: |
|---|---|
| When you receive the ticket… | You should gather as much evidence as you can to support your appeal claim and prove that the ticket was unfairly issued. |
| If you were given the ticket in person/attached to your car… | You must make an informal appeal (sent to the local authority/council that issued the PCN) within 14 days. This should be a letter with the evidence proving why the ticket was incorrectly given. |
| If it was posted to you… | You will be given 21 days to submit an informal appeal (from the day you received the letter). Your informal appeal should be a letter with the evidence proving why the ticket was incorrectly given. |
| If the informal appeal is rejected… | You will receive a Notice to Owner and will have 28 days to respond to this with a formal appeal. You can conduct the formal appeal online or via paper form. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal can send you one of these forms. |
| If the formal appeal is rejected… | You will receive a Notice of Rejection. From here, you are free to challenge the council’s verdict at an independent tribunal. |
| If the independent tribunal disagrees with your appeal… | You should pay the ticket within 28 days of the tribunal rejecting your appeal. If you don’t, the fine will be increased by 50%. If you don’t have the money to pay the fine, you should contact Citizens Advice or another debt charity. |
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What grounds can I appeal the PCN on?
Recent information received under the Freedom of Information Act reveals the following to be the most common grounds for a successful appeal for the following reasons:
- Hire firms passing on the penalty to the driver of the vehicle
- The vehicle wrongly identified as, “not compliant” when it was
- The car was sold before the ULEZ charge was applied
- The driver made a mistake trying to make an automated ULEZ payment
- The driver has a blue badge and this was the first fine
Not knowing how the process works is not a good enough reason to appeal the decision, though.
Transport for London has stated that ignorance of the ULEZ programme is the most common reason appeals are refused, and they believe this to be the case.
If you believe that you have been unfairly penalised, it is extremely vital that you file an appeal with ULEZ. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that your ULEZ appeal will be successful if you can show that the penalty was applied in an unfair way. If you want to avoid getting a penalty notice in the first place, it is in your best interest to familiarise yourself with the ULEZ by reading about it on the TFL website.
How much is the fine?
| Vehicle types | Full PCN charge | If paid within 14 days |
| Over 1.205 tonnes unladen up to and including 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight: Vans, 4×4 light utility vehicles, Motorised horseboxes, Breakdown and recovery vehicles, Dual purpose vehicles, Other specialist diesel vehicles, hearses, motor caravans | £500 | £250 |
| Vehicles meeting Euro IV standard (PM) but not meeting Euro VI standard (NOx and PM) Lorries, goods vehicles, motor caravans, motorised horseboxes, breakdown and recovery vehicles, snow ploughs, gritters, refuse collection vehicles, road sweepers, concrete mixers, tippers, fire engines, removals lorries, other specialist heavy vehicles, buses and coaches with more than 8 seats | £1000 | £500 |
| Vehicles not meeting Euro IV standard (PM)More than 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weightLorries, goods vehicles, motor caravans, motorised horseboxes, breakdown and recovery vehicles, snow ploughs, gritters, refuse collection vehicles, road sweepers, concrete mixers, tippers, fire engines, removals lorries, other specialists heavy vehicles. More than 5 tonnes gross vehicle weight: Buses/minibuses (with more than 8 passenger seats) Coaches (with more than 8 passenger seats) | £2000 | £1000 |
Contacting the TFL to make an appeal
There are various ways to get in touch with Transport for London (TFL) to appeal your ULEZ PCN.
You can make your representation online by clicking here. You will need your PCN number, the reasons why you are appealing and any supporting evidence.
You can also do it in writing via post. The address to use is Congestion Charging, PO Box 340, Darlington, DL1 9PZ
Hire a Parking Solicitor for less than a coffee.
If you’re thinking about appealing your parking ticket then getting some professional advice is a good idea.
Getting the support of a Solicitor can make your appeal much more likely to win.
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