How To Challenge A Penalty Notice For ULEZ?

We’re sure you have heard of ULEZ by now. We’re also convinced that you are concerned about the charges and penalty charges applied to motorists who are deemed to not conform. 

We’ve put together a series of mini-articles designed to equip our readers with all the knowledge they need to navigate London’s ULEZ. 

If you’re in the unfortunate place of being issued a penalty notice for missing a ULEZ charge, we hope this article will arm you with everything you need to appeal the penalty. 

According to figures acquired by Money Saving Expert, just over 50% of all ULEZ penalty appeals have been successfully upheld. With statistics like that, it is definitely worth submitting an appeal. 

The ULEZ Appeals Process

In the first instance, if you’ve been issued a ULEZ penalty charge notice; you need to register your appeal on the Transport For London website. You can also appeal in writing (we’d recommend doing it online though as it’s quicker).

This is known legally as, “making a representation”. 

If you do this quickly, you are likely to freeze the payment period meaning, that even if your appeal is rejected, you can still pay the minimum early payment charge rather than the full charge. 

Typically, a penalty charge notice is posted to the registered keeper of the vehicle. This doesn’t automatically mean the registered keeper is the one liable for the penalty. 

For example, if the registered keeper is a hire company who can prove it wasn’t them driving the vehicle on the day of the notice, there may be successful grounds for an upheld appeal (in fact, this is the most likely grounds for a successful appeal). 

The appeals process can only be initiated within a 28 day period of receiving the original penalty charge notice so, it’s important to get your appeal in quickly. 

What grounds can I appeal ULEZ on? 

Appealing a ULEZ penalty charge notice is not an exact science. 

According to recent information obtained under the freedom of information act, the following were the most common reasons for an upheld appeal: 

• Hire firms passing on the penalty to the driver of the vehicle
• 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 

Unfortunately, ignorance of the scheme is not deemed sufficient grounds for appeal. 

Transport for London has said that the most common reason appeals are rejected is down to ignorance of the ULEZ scheme. 

It’s really important that you DO appeal ULEZ if you feel you have been unfairly fined.

There’s lots of evidence that your ULEZ appeal will be upheld if you are able to sufficiently prove the penalty was unfair.

We highly recommend reading up on the ULEZ on our site to make sure you avoid a penalty notice in the first place. 

Use the simple ULEZ checker to find out if you have to pay ULEZ charges.