Ulez Emissions Reviews 118

Useless

Can’t see the payments from my account and they have just taken £25 and have not been into London in over two months !!

This is a cr ap system

Awful.
Have 3 family member cars on auto pay account.
Changed the family car this August and added to account.
Got a PCN for our replacement car which had been added to the account.
It turns out that I'd not added autopay to the new car.
This was an innocent mistake in thinking that autopay would be added.
Asked for some goodwill but not interested, pay the PCN or complain.
I paid but bitterly disappointed by their lack of understanding and lack of goodwill.

This whole ULEZ system feels like a huge scam. I had AutoPay and Direct Debit set up and confirmed by my bank, yet Transport for London still issued me 31 penalties (30 ULEZ and 1 Congestion Charge).

Instead of charging me £12.50 per day through AutoPay (which I was and still am willing to pay), they ignored my Direct Debit and now claim I owe over £11,000. I even have written proof signed by a ULEZ manager that my Direct Debit was active.

I have been fighting this for over a year, sending appeals and even going through the courts, but every time my applications are rejected, no matter how much evidence I provide. I never even received letters by post.

Originally the amount was £390, which I agreed to pay, but they refused. Now they are demanding £355 per penalty, using bailiffs to threaten me. This is not fair enforcement – this is financial abuse of ordinary drivers.

The ULEZ scheme is supposed to reduce pollution, not ruin people’s lives with unjust penalties. It needs urgent investigation and reform.

Not sure if I went in to the Ulez zone in Sheffield, but I paid the daily charge anyway just in case I did and didn’t want to pay the fine.
I went online .GOV website to see if my reg had flagged up as entering the ulez zone.
But the system for some reason does not tell you if you did or not!! Why don’t they tell you??

Surely if they have your details via cameras to issue fines etc, why not give you info and let you know if you DID enter the ulez zone!!

This is so you have to go online and pay up even if you don’t need to!!

This is a con and just a money maker.
The is in their records but they won’t tell you, just want you to pay up!
Disgusting and a rip off…

Absolutely terrible website. How to make a simple process unnecessarily complicated and help yourself to all my personal data while you are at it.

From a back street in a free zone I went i to the payment zone .by 1 street
Not knowing this i received 100 pound fine .
I explained situation .and also said I would not ignore the daily fee if I thought I was going to be in the zone .
It fell on deaf ears ....I had the standard letter I assume .
Pay 100 pounds
Thankyou ....it really was a waste of time
As a pensioner that's my food money for
Several days.

Absolutely incompetent, money grabbing organisation.
Firstly my car is complaint but because of a change of registration no. Tfl started issuing Pcn's for my car. I made a representation and they had to cancel 19 of them. There was no apology or acceptance of their sheer incompetence. A week later I received 5 more pcn's and this time when I called them I was told that these 5 were already on the system so they hadn't looked at them !!! Amongst them I had 4 notices issued over a 2 day period,10 minutes apart on each day

Disgusting customer service, just try passing you around different departments, not very polite, no one wants to help, just want to keep taking money and not resolve any issues. Great bristish service, can see why there is only 1 star on the ratings, would be alot lower if it was possible. 1 is being to high.

Went to the Derby meeting at epsom downs june 6 7 8 June 2025. Stayed at Kingston on Thames. Got 3 fines dated as above For driving in ULEZ apparently!!!. I'm very experienced driver and can honestly say didn't see any signs . Was unaware that I'd accidentally gone in to ULEZ. 3 fines dropped in letterbox 2 weeks later. Called ULEZ and explained to person who attitude wasn't the best and he said I should of seen signs . No sympathy whatsoever nor no leanancy at all. Absolutely disgusting!!!!
Wrote letter to explain no reply!!!!
So paid up £90 per fine total £270.
Obviously they haven't replied and are waiting to add late payment charges. Absolutely disgusting vile people. Scamming British public who are law abiding and government are letting them get away with it.
😆 LOL. Keir starmer should be ashamed of yourself. Shame you won't be prime minister long LOL. And then London's mayor I'll say no more. Never driving London ever again. Had to give 1 star would of given minus 100 if I was allowed. Shame on London's ULEZ.!!!!!!!

One the worst digital journey experiences I have ever used; reminds me of the year 1999 when browsers were first used. Nothing is straightforward;
Even the email entry and password requirements belong in a different millennium. For a recent piece of technology this is embarrassing.

Very tough process getting ULEZ compliant vehicles to actually show as ULEZ on the site.

They confirmed my motorbike was ULEZ compliant in March.

I changed the plate to a private plate (as mine was cloned) and now they aren't approving the SAME BIKE as ULEZ compliant despite submitting evidence on multiple occasions.

Absolute joke.

Genuine Error on my part.
My Car is low emissions, £35.00 a year road tax.
I live in Yorkshire, so not really well versed on how Ulez works, but in my naivety, I thought my car would be exempt with it being in the above tax bracket.
I was wrong, I got 2 penalties going into Heathrow, one at 9.30Pm, then one at 6am the next day, then one when I returned from my Holiday, however I wasn't aware I needed to pay the Ulez charge.
This was in know way an attempt avoiding the charges, I simply wasn't aware I needed to p[ay.
When I contact the Ulez helpline, I might as well have phoned Putin in Russia, The lady had no understanding, No compassion, no help, they offered absolutely nothing to help, this lady is in the wrong job, no idea off customer service, very Rude talked over me while I was explaining my situation.
Simply did not care or had any interest in offering any help at all.
Apparently, my misjudgement is no excuse.
I said Could I pay the original charges I would have paid had I been aware.
No,
I have now sent in my 3 charges of £90.00ea to see if there is any compassion or understand at TFL.
This is second to highway robbery for a simple error.
This may well end up at the Ombudsman, see if they can offer a solution and from daylight robbery.
Does this organisation offer anything for genuine error`s of judgement???

A set of thieves.
Had to fly from Heathrow airport. 1st and last time now.
I got lost at the Radison Blue . Traffic horrendous and strayed into the zone. I am from the North and when I planned the journey with sat nav no mention of this.
I don't download apps or put credit cards on my dated mobile so was fined for this.
I offered to pay the charge and didn't mind the charge but instead of a £25 charge I ended up paying £180. This government and it's bag of thieves are a disgrace to Britain. I called them and explained I don't tho tech Incase of getting scammed and at my age it's a little beyond me.
All they said was I broke the law. If you challenge us it's will go to£360. If you lose and you will as we have photographic evidence.
I would have paid the charge but been away from home for two weeks meant I couldn't get my mail.
They told me it's well signposted
Try driving in fast traffic and lost. Last thing you want is to look around. My eyes was on traffic.

This is how the British working person is treat . I won't say tho much hear Incase I get into trouble for something else. I'm sure you know what I mean.
Pay tax.
Work hard.
Don't break the law.
British to the core.
Shafted by this f.ing system by the ones in power.
F.ing bandits the lot of them

Absolute con, rip off to the general public. Just a money grab. Glad I visit London only once every 10 years when I absolutely have to

What i complete and utter con. Poor signage which i didn't see and only 3 days to pay a very high fine of £90. Hope Karma catches up with the people who introduced this scam! I will never visit London again!!

TfL is a disgrace – I tried to pay, their system failed- they ignored it and punished me anyway

TLDR I have never come across a more disgusting and disgraceful business. Let me break down the full story because people need to see just how badly TfL treats honest people trying to follow the rules.

1. The journey starts on 22 March 2025

I drove into the ULEZ zone and got home that evening. I have never driven into ULEZ before, but I knew I had to pay the £12.50 charge, and I fully intended to. I’m not the type to dodge things — I’ve paid TfL 29 times before for train tickets etc. That night when I got home, I tried to pay online.

2. Account creation hell

I’d never used TfL’s ULEZ site before, so it asked me to create an account. I did — entered all my details — and it redirected me back to the home page.
When I tried to log in, it asked for a customer number. Not my email. A customer number.
But guess what- They never emailed it to me.
There’s no way to retrieve it. No “forgot customer number” option.
So now I couldn’t log into the account I just made. Useless.

3. Second account, same issues

I figured maybe I typed the wrong email — skill issue, maybe. So I created a second account with a different email. Same problem. Still no customer number sent. Still can’t log in.
By this point it’s almost 3am, I’m exhausted, frustrated, but I try one more time.

4. Third account, workaround

I create a third account, and this time, when the site showed me the customer number, I immediately copied it to my clipboard, knowing it would probably dump me back on the homepage again.
It did. So I pasted in the number, logged in — and finally got access.

5. Payment attempt – 23 March 2025, 02:58 AM

I go to pay the £12.50. I enter my Monzo card details. I get the 3D Secure notification to approve the payment.
I approve it. TfL’s site goes blank for a second, then dumps me back to the homepage.
No confirmation. No error. Just the homepage.
But my Monzo app shows the payment as pending, so I assume it’s gone through.

6. Two days later – payment fails

It’s now Tuesday morning (25 March). I wake up, check Monzo for something else — and I see the payment has failed.
Why? It says “declined – you didn’t approve this payment in time.”
That’s bullshit. I did approve it.
Turns out: TfL never completed the transaction on their end.
When you approve a payment, the merchant still has to also send a confirmation request. TfL didn’t. So it expired.
I tried to pay. Their system failed.

7. Immediate phone call to TfL

I call up TfL the same morning. I explain what happened. I offer to pay the £12.50 immediately. I’m calm, polite, just trying to sort it.
They refuse. “We have to wait until a PCN is issued.”
No help. No empathy.

8. The PCN arrives – £90

Despite everything, I get slapped with a £90 charge.
I appeal it — send screenshots from Monzo, outline all three account attempts, provide exact times, and explain the system failure.

9. They reject the appeal

They say: “No payment received.” That’s it.
No acknowledgement of the fact I approved it. No responsibility for their broken system.
Nothing. Like no shit Sherlock, the payment wasn’t received because YOU didn’t process your request for the money despite me giving you authority to process the payment, but somehow that’s a me problem?

10. I submit a formal complaint – 4 April 2025

I also complain about how I was treated on the phone — dismissive and cold.
It’s now mid-May and I still haven’t received any response.
No confirmation. No follow-up. Just ignored.

11. Final call – 19 May 2025

I call again. Calm, respectful. I explain that I’m currently unemployed, on Universal Credit, and that £90 is most of my food budget for the month.
I ask if they can help me — a payment plan, a pause, anything.
Their response?

“Go to Citizens Advice or pay the fine.”

No offer of support. No interest in the complaint. Just pay up or shut up.

⸻

Summary:
• I tried to pay.
• Their system failed — three times.
• I approved the charge. They didn’t complete the payment.
• I called and offered to fix it. They refused.
• I complained. They ignored me.
• I explained I’m on benefits. They couldn’t care less.

TfL isn’t just disorganised — it’s inhumane.
They punish people who try to do the right thing, ignore their own failures, and push vulnerable people deeper into hardship.
All I wanted was to pay the £12.50 I owed. Instead, they’ve taken my dignity, my food budget, and my patience.

The mad bit is even if I appeal to the external tribunal they can’t hold it at £90, and it will go up to £180.
So I either pay £90 now or risk having a black&white adjudicator who could also reject my appeal on the BS “no payment received” grounds and would now have to pay the FULL £180 which I definitely can not afford.

So now, under extreme duress, I have to go without food for part of this month and pay the £90.

Utter scam artists and I hope the all rot in hell!

You can't rate incompetence with a zero rating.
TfL offers an Autopay facilty for people that travel in and out of the Genghis Khan thiefdom. It doesn't matter how much of a 24h period you trespass with your vehicle, nor does it tax you for how many miles, or inches, inside the ULEZ boundary, you are charged a flat rate. It also doesn't matter how well your engine is tuned, the price is the same. It also doesn't matter if you've passed the vehicle to a new owner because the incompetent system operated by incompetent people has no online mechanism to update the details, or indeed should you have sold your vehicle, even if DVLA recognise the change of owner immediately. TfL claims that it refers to the DVLA. Yeah, Right!
Despite evidence from DVLA, TfL charged me for a two trips made by a new owner of previously-owned van. He, not I, had driven inside ULEZ., yet I was charged. TfL refused to refund and charge the new owners.
Instead, you have to send copies of the V5c which seems to take days for TfL to acknowledge, meanwhile you'll be liable to charging.
Then, the transfer of a cherished numberplate is completely beyond TfL's system. In fact, I'd say the system resembles the way we used to do things back in colonial days. It's glorified paper-pushing. I informed TfL that my wife's numberplate was being transferred from a perfectly good 2011 car to a 22 plate so that we might avoid filling the Cash Cow that is the TfL charging system. I sent copies of DVLA authorisation letters along with copies of the relevant V5c for the new car. I sent three sets of each page of the V5c. I called the very helpful TfL - this would have been for the fourth time - to talk with a chap called Dominic. He told me that the scans had not arrived, but TfL did not respond to any of my emails that had scan files attached, except for a 'a respresentative will contact' none did, by the way.
Eventually, TfL recognised the new car after I'd attached copies of the V5c a file at a time and a photo of my car showing that it was no longer black and was now green. I thought a coloured photo might help! Guess what I've been charged again. I've driven all over the world on autopay roads and can say without doubt that TfL operates the least efficient but most effective means of robbing motorists.
I feel that people might feel the most effective way of maximising your £12.50 ULEZ charge is to go out of your way to detune the car or van and stay all day inside ULEZ just burning fuel.
It's sobering to think that an extremely brief visit from the shires to collect a friend from Heathrow will cost the same as going to west driving up and down in the East End all day long.
It's not a fair or just system. It's 6 years old and doesn't function. It's not a Fujitsu system is it??

This is the biggest scam since Covid. I have checked my car before I buy and it says I don’t need to pay ulez, bought the car drive around London never have an issue. I have put my private number plate and they start sending me PCN , I challenge it saying it’s not my fault if things are not updated in their data base, I sent an evidence with a screenshot saying I don’t need to pay but NO! They still sending PCN and now they asking me to send V5C, V948, letter from the vehicle manufacturer, etc… to the post!!!
I though ulez have access to the vehicle details, if not how do they make decisions about which car is compliant or not. Absolutely unbelievable!!! Why I have to stress about all this when they can have a full access to my vehicle details through DVLA?!! this don’t make sense at all!!!

Why oh why TFL can't you get you're damn web site sorted so those of us who have no option but to pay you're disgusting fees, can do so easily. You must have the most complicated, confusing and worst site I've ever had the misfortune to use and navigate through. Very many others have told you this so get your act together and sort it.
The combination of your ridiculously bad web site and the level of fees you demand has guaranteed I will never ever visit London again.

Might be I'm 87 just spent a very frustrating half hour All I wanted was to go just inside the zone on Sunday for a few hours to visit my Aunties and family grave killed in the blitz Simples? Nooooo youve got get a a/c so did it only to find they had charged me for inner London as well! Phoned sorry no refund I said why so just hold the line now they said they are sending a cheque to refund the central London bit, good polite girls, but what a bloody palaver just for rare visit back home !!!