Some 927 drivers were issued penalty tickets from a camera at the Old Redding junction towards Common Road in Harrow
Transport for London had to refund more than £10,000 in fines after a Ulez camera was found to be pointing in the wrong direction.
Exactly 927 drivers were issued penalty tickets from a camera at the Old Redding junction towards Common Road in Harrow, north-west London.
Local Conservative Party councillor Marilyn Ashton called the mistake a ‘total fiasco’.
The deputy leader and member for Stanmore said: ‘If you are driving down Old Redding in a non-compliant car, you shouldn’t have to pay a charge as those roads are exempt.
‘Since it went up on August 29, people thought, “I’ll go that way and not have to pay anything,” and had to pay the £12.50.
‘It’s not in London at all, which is partially why it’s a terrible idea to do this.
‘All that was wrong is that the cameras were facing these roads.’
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One of the new boundary lines splits the borough of Harrow into two – but the camera was installed the wrong way and has been incorrectly charging drivers
Transport for London had to refund more than £10,000 in fines after the camera was found to be pointing the wrong way
The mum-of-two and grandma-of-two, who has lived in the area for five decades, claimed it took weeks to fix the error.
‘More than 900 and something people had to pay £12.50 and that’s terrible,’ Marilyn added.
‘It’s unacceptable, incompetent and disgraceful.
‘Once they realised what was wrong they should have sorted it out, but they waited for the best part of a month to remedy it.
‘People will get a refund but it’s not very nice; these people haven’t done anything wrong. This should never have happened.’
The ultra-low emissions zone was expanded to outer London from August this year, charging drivers £12.50 a day if their vehicle doesn’t meet emissions standards.
The ultra-low emissions zone was expanded to outer London from August this year
One of the new boundary lines splits the borough of Harrow into two – but the camera was installed the wrong way and has been incorrectly charging drivers travelling north through one junction, which falls outside of the zone.
Marilyn, who was against the most recent expansion, called on London mayor Sadiq Khan to apologise for the ’embarrassment’.
‘We’re not talking about half a dozen people, here: it’s hundreds of people,’ she added.
‘There was a woman at the hairdresser saying she didn’t understand it. It had happened to her four times.
‘I just think it’s blatant carelessness, incompetence and arrogance.
‘It wasn’t hard to crack it, it wasn’t exactly rocket science. I find it extraordinary, really.’
A spokesperson for TfL said: ‘We apologise for this error. Unfortunately this camera was incorrectly positioned.
‘It was switched off once we were informed of the error and has been re-positioned. We have refunded any charges that were wrongly issued.’
It added all cameras on the London boundary have been checked, and they are now correctly positioned.
Transport for London had to refund more than £10,000 in fines.
Key Takeaways
- More than 900 and something people had to pay £12.50
- Chase TFL for a refund. Or you can contact us for a group action on WTX Twitter
- The new boundary lines splits the borough of Harrow
- If you are driving down Old Redding in a non-compliant car, you shouldn’t have to pay a charge as those roads are exempt.
