Drivers in Ulez-compliant cars may wrongly be charged because of glitch

As many as 100,000 petrol cars registered before 2005 could be Ulez compliant

Owners of some older cars including BMWs and Mercedes may be wrongly paying ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) fines, it has been found.

The Ulez scheme impacts drivers of vehicles that do not meet emission standards and applies across the whole of London

Owners of such cars, which are typically older models, are issued with daily charges of £12.50 or fines of £180 if their car crosses the Ulez zone.

However, as many as 100,000 petrol cars registered between 1999 and 2005 may in fact satisfy the emission zone rules as they were made to cleaner standards, according to The Times.

But most owners of these vehicles are very likely unaware that their car is compliant and are needlessly paying unnecessary fines.

The problem is affecting drivers of models from manufacturers including BMW, Land Rover, Mercedes and Toyota.

Trevor Wood, chairman of the British Independent Motor Trade Association, told the newspaper: “They should put the whole scheme on hold and no fines should be issued until this has been sorted out.”

The only way to check whether your car is compliant is to get a certificate of conformity from the manufacturer. This contains details of the car’s levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions.

Ulez has been a controversial scheme since it was launched in 2019 (PA Wire)

In 2019 when Ulez was launched, it only covered the same area as the central London congestion charge zone. In 2021, the scheme area was expanded to “inner London” – inside the north and south circular roads.

It has now been extended to cover the whole of Greater London.

Transport for London (TfL) says nine out of 10 cars seen driving in outer London on an average day meet the Ulez standards, so will not be liable for the charge.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan expanded the scheme from inner London to greater London in August 2023 (PA)

But Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency figures obtained by the RAC show 691,559 licensed cars in the whole of London are likely to be non-compliant.

This does not take into account other vehicles such as vans and lorries, or vehicles which enter London from neighbouring counties such as Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey and Kent.

TfL told The Times: “There may be a tiny number of individual cases of vehicles that [met] emission standards ahead of time and we continually update the vehicle checker with this information for individual vehicles when provided.

“The tiny number of vehicles affected should have been issued with a certificate with emissions information when they were purchased. They can apply for a new one from the manufacturer if they do not have one and TfL will ensure they are on the system and don’t have to pay the Ulez charge.”