European Lorry Drivers Challenge ‘Unfair’ ULEZ Fines In High Court

A detail view of signage indicating the new boundary of the LEZ and ULEZ expansion on August 29, 2023 in London on Aug. 29, 2023. Leon Neal/Getty Images

Lawyers acting for Dutch lorry drivers have launched high court action against Transport for London (TfL) over ultra low emissions zone (ULEZ) fines for driving non-compliant vehicles in the capital.

Penalties of up to £6.5 million were issued unlawfully in Euros instead of pounds, according to lawyers who filed the first legal challenge against TfL and its debt collection agency, Euro Parking Collection (EPC).

If successful, the challenge could open the floodgates to an avalanche of court cases in a blow to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s controversial scheme.

The ULEZ  scheme, first introduced in April 2019 and extended across all London boroughs this year, requires drivers of vehicles deemed non-compliant within prescribed emissions standards to pay a daily charge of £12.50 or face a fine of up to £180.

TfL also enforces a separate low emission zone (LEZ) requiring lorries, vans, buses, coaches and minibuses travelling in Greater London to pay a higher daily charge of between £100 and £300 a day, depending on the size and weight of the non-compliant vehicle.

LEZ fines for non-payment are between £500 and £2,000 a day and increase if not paid within 28 days, leading to some individuals and firms being hit with fines of several thousand pounds.

Both ULEZ and LEZ charges apply to non-UK residents and companies, with TfL using ECP to issue and pursue the fines outside the UK.

This has led to individuals and companies in the European Union being hit with hefty fines for unknowingly entering the charging zones, with complaints about a lack of clear signage or information to make drivers aware of the penalties.

A Dutch company representing dozens of lorry firms has applied for permission to launch a judicial review against TfL, which it claims has unlawfully issued fines of up to €7.5 million to businesses in the Netherlands.

Speaking to the Telegraph, the owner of Transport in Nood BV, Antonio Oliveira, said the company was launching the case to establish whether or not the fines are legally enforceable.

“People have been really impacted. I have seen people in tears over this, others have had to sell their trucks. It is completely unjust, and we need to get an answer from an English court to find out if this is correct,” he said.

“We are launching this claim to get the fines that have already been paid to be repaid, and the court costs. We are talking millions of pounds. We are only talking about Holland it must be even greater across Europe. We are not the only country, of course.”

Transport in Nood BV has hired the haulage specialist British law firm Smith, Bowyer and Clarke, to act on its behalf after it said its clients received more than 10,000 fine notices from TfL through the EPC since November last year.

According to the Dutch company, many of these fines arrived on the same day, costing some firms tens of thousands of euros in just a single day and causing some to go bankrupt.

The legal challenge is based upon the claim that the fines were unlawfully denominated into euros, which is contrary to UK legislation which says that all fines should be issued in pounds.

Lawyers acting for the Dutch firm claim the EPC used a high exchange rate, meaning fines are £200 more expensive when issued to drivers in the Netherlands.

The company will also argue that if the fines were sent as soon as the drivers were caught in the zones instead of later on, drivers could have changed their behaviour—such as by taking a different route—and avoided further fines.

A TfL spokesman said: “We have received a claim relating to penalty charge notices from claimants based in the Netherlands and are considering our response.”