ULEZ/TFL system not fit for purpose
Discussion
Bought a Euro 6 compliant car, put private plate on, car has lost its ULEZ exempt status because for some reason their system is picking up the wrong data related to the plate, who knows... Contacted TFL with V5C as requested, I even supplied them with reg nos of identical vehicles of the same model year which show as ULEZ exempt.
They are now demanding sight of a Certificate of Conformity, which needless to say will cost another load of cash for Mercedes to supply to correct TFLs s
t system error, more faffing about because they cant do their job properly, and I'll bet they won't correct their error for another 10 working days.
I wouldn't mind, but every time I have to go from Heathrow for time away I get billed twice.
What a scam.
Anyone else had similar problems?
They are now demanding sight of a Certificate of Conformity, which needless to say will cost another load of cash for Mercedes to supply to correct TFLs s
t system error, more faffing about because they cant do their job properly, and I'll bet they won't correct their error for another 10 working days. I wouldn't mind, but every time I have to go from Heathrow for time away I get billed twice.
What a scam.
Anyone else had similar problems?
Some personalised plates have been an issue, and continue to be so. A lot aren't. But to say it isn't fit for purpose is harsh. Most people don't have personalised plates, and most that do don't have an issue, so for the overwhelming majority of people, it's not an issue. Approx 95% of cars are ULEZ exempt, and I should think that 99% of those show up as exempt. I live in London and I personally don't know of anyone who has had an issue. But I know from reading on here a few people do.
GasEngineer said:
Robertb said:
What a scam.
Why is it a scam OP?The data shows my car is exempt from the charge but they are putting the burden of proof on me when their system is at fault.
In the first instance, they asked for the V5C which shows the emissions, but now they've decided they want a certificate of conformity. They'll probably want something else after that. They could make it simple, but they are making it as difficult as they possibly can.
Bristol ULEZ dealt with the matter with a simple email exchange.
Robertb said:
Anyone else had similar problems?
I had similar with a car that wasn't listed as compliant, even though it should have been. I mailed them a scan of my V5C and a PDF of the vehicle info from:
https://carfueldata.vehicle-certification-agency.g...
(enter your car details, then the 'description' field in the results should become a link to the official emissions etc)
They updated the system after a week or so to show it as compliant. They didn't tell me that they'd done it, but the next time I checked it showed as compliant.
Edited by random_username on Wednesday 12th March 20:03
Robertb said:
GasEngineer said:
Robertb said:
What a scam.
Why is it a scam OP?It's a glitch on the system. No one is out to scam you deliberately.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Some personalised plates have been an issue, and continue to be so. A lot aren't. But to say it isn't fit for purpose is harsh. Most people don't have personalised plates, and most that do don't have an issue, so for the overwhelming majority of people, it's not an issue. Approx 95% of cars are ULEZ exempt, and I should think that 99% of those show up as exempt. I live in London and I personally don't know of anyone who has had an issue. But I know from reading on here a few people do.
You seem to love making posts all about the OP being the problem and not the 'system' that's failing them, or just generally being argumentative almost for the sake of it.What's wrong with you?
Have you actually spoken to MB about getting a CoC and the cost for it? Or are you just assuming a cost?
My Boxster was showing as non compliant. All I had to do was ask Porsche via online for a copy of my CoC, had to fill in a form and scan a copy of my V5C. All came within a week and then sent it to the correct authorities. A week later it was compliant. A slight admin burden, but all in it probably took me 15 minutes total time and zero pennies.
My Boxster was showing as non compliant. All I had to do was ask Porsche via online for a copy of my CoC, had to fill in a form and scan a copy of my V5C. All came within a week and then sent it to the correct authorities. A week later it was compliant. A slight admin burden, but all in it probably took me 15 minutes total time and zero pennies.
Jayho said:
Have you actually spoken to MB about getting a CoC and the cost for it? Or are you just assuming a cost?
My Boxster was showing as non compliant. All I had to do was ask Porsche via online for a copy of my CoC, had to fill in a form and scan a copy of my V5C. All came within a week and then sent it to the correct authorities. A week later it was compliant. A slight admin burden, but all in it probably took me 15 minutes total time and zero pennies.
^This.My Boxster was showing as non compliant. All I had to do was ask Porsche via online for a copy of my CoC, had to fill in a form and scan a copy of my V5C. All came within a week and then sent it to the correct authorities. A week later it was compliant. A slight admin burden, but all in it probably took me 15 minutes total time and zero pennies.
If obtaining and supplying TfL with a CoC costs nothing but admin time, I'd be annoyed but ultimately it will be sorted.
If it costs money, I'd point this out to them, along with the fact that I'd supplied all information needed for them to make a reasoned decision on a vehicle that is clearly compliant, inviting them to take me to court for a judge to decide if they disagree.
havoc said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Some personalised plates have been an issue, and continue to be so. A lot aren't. But to say it isn't fit for purpose is harsh. Most people don't have personalised plates, and most that do don't have an issue, so for the overwhelming majority of people, it's not an issue. Approx 95% of cars are ULEZ exempt, and I should think that 99% of those show up as exempt. I live in London and I personally don't know of anyone who has had an issue. But I know from reading on here a few people do.
You seem to love making posts all about the OP being the problem and not the 'system' that's failing them, or just generally being argumentative almost for the sake of it.What's wrong with you?
Just pointing out that the throw around of the word scam (a very misused word) is probably not true.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Robertb said:
GasEngineer said:
Robertb said:
What a scam.
Why is it a scam OP?It's a glitch on the system. No one is out to scam you deliberately.
Each phone call takes ages, email responses can take around 10 working days.
A normal organisation would just accept there's an obvious fault and correct it. They even say on their own website that plate transfers may cause issues.
The charge should be associated with the car VIN, not the plate.
As I said, not fit for purpose.
And yes, Mercedes-Benz do charge for a COC... £30, and they need ID, V5C and proof of vehicle purchase scanning and emailing to them. And I'll still get charged £25 to go to the airport and back as they won't correct it in time, all because they're s
t.Robertb said:
Scam is perhaps the wrong word given they are not setting out to defraud, though I stand by my opinion that their system is at fault, and they should be sorting it out rather than causing The Customer loads of admin faff and extra cost to sort out their error. They absolutely know my car is exempt because firstly it was previously, and secondly, the registration numbers of other identical cars I passed on to them come up as exempt, but they have chosen to make me jump through endless hoops because they know most people just give up.
Each phone call takes ages, email responses can take around 10 working days.
A normal organisation would just accept there's an obvious fault and correct it. They even say on their own website that plate transfers may cause issues.
The charge should be associated with the car VIN, not the plate.
As I said, not fit for purpose.
And yes, Mercedes-Benz do charge for a COC... £30, and they need ID, V5C and proof of vehicle purchase scanning and emailing to them. And I'll still get charged £25 to go to the airport and back as they won't correct it in time, all because they're st.
That is poor indeed. Each phone call takes ages, email responses can take around 10 working days.
A normal organisation would just accept there's an obvious fault and correct it. They even say on their own website that plate transfers may cause issues.
The charge should be associated with the car VIN, not the plate.
As I said, not fit for purpose.
And yes, Mercedes-Benz do charge for a COC... £30, and they need ID, V5C and proof of vehicle purchase scanning and emailing to them. And I'll still get charged £25 to go to the airport and back as they won't correct it in time, all because they're s
t.Lord knows why MB need ID and proof of purchase - does a CoC allow someone to pass a stolen car off as their own??
I've been through similar with a registration plate change. The problem seems to be that TfL rely on a synchronisation of registration data from DVLA systems, which only happens periodically. I suspect it may be a question of having to wait for the TfL system to be synchronised with the DVLA database which appears to happen on a monthly basis.
jeremyc said:
The database was finally updated on 14 August 2023. I did get a further response to my enquiry to TfL to confirm that the vehicle was now ULEZ exempt.
In response to my initial enquiry
In response to my initial enquiry
TfL on 4 August 2023 said:
The details held on our system are in fact provided from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), however we
don't have a live link to this database, and it is updated periodically. This may be why the vehicles ULEZ compliance
status may have been updated with DVLA but not yet updated with our system. I note the new V5c is dated 14 July
2023 so will not have been updated with us as yet.
Then in response to a further enquiry on 11 August 2023don't have a live link to this database, and it is updated periodically. This may be why the vehicles ULEZ compliance
status may have been updated with DVLA but not yet updated with our system. I note the new V5c is dated 14 July
2023 so will not have been updated with us as yet.
TfL on 14 August 2023 said:
We can confirm that the vehicle <reg number> meets the required standards, is exempt from the scheme or is subject to a
100% discount. This means you will not need to pay a ULEZ charge to travel in the zone.
100% discount. This means you will not need to pay a ULEZ charge to travel in the zone.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff