The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year (except Christmas Day) to help clean up London’s air.

The plans to expand the scheme across more London boroughs was approved by the courts this week, meaning by next month, drivers of vehicles that don’t meet minimum standards will be paying more to drive around the capital.

While the scheme is designed to clear up London’s air – after some boroughs were considered dangerously unhealthy by the World Health Organisation (WHO) – many are still rallying against the scheme.

This is because people face more outgoings during the cost of living crisis or have to pay for a ULEZ compliant car.

With all that considered, can you refuse to pay the ULEZ fee? And what happens if you try?

When do you need to pay the ULEZ charge?

You can pay by midnight on the third day following the journey or up to 90 days in advance. The daily charge is:

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• £12.50 for cars, motorcycles, vans and specialist vehicles (up to and including 3.5 tonnes) and minibuses (up to and including 5 tonnes).

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If you drive within the zone, you’ll have to pay by midnight on the third day following the journey.

You can pay the charge online if it’s not a regular thing, set up Auto Pay if you expect to be driving through the ULEZ areas a lot, or use  the Transport for London (TfL) Pay to Drive app.

The app is useful for motorists who drive through London often, as you can do various tasks all from the app including adding vehicles to your account, paying Congestion Zone charges and more.

The app is available to download for free at both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Failing to pay on time means you risk getting a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).

Can you refuse to pay the ULEZ charge or PCN?

Failing to pay a raised PCN against your vehicle within the 28 days of receipt will increase your charge to £1,500 or £240 depending on your vehicle size.

If you continue to ignore the charges, TfL will apply to register your charge as an unpaid debt to the Traffic Enforcement Centre.

An Order of Recovery will be issued, and your penalty charge will begin to increase if not paid within 14 days of the Charge Certificate being served.

Continuing to refuse to pay after this will result in a warrant of execution being passed on to debt enforcement agents – aka bailiffs.  

A story from Auto Express in 2021 confirmed that TfL will chase any overdue fines.

The story alleged that hundreds of thousands of fines went unpaid, but authorities hadn’t been able to begin fully chasing them up as the country was still greatly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Paul Cowperthwaite, TfL’s General Manager of Road User Charging, told Auto Express: ‘There are many reasons a PCN may remain open, including the customer contacting us to query the PCN, non-payment of notices and the debt recovery process.’

‘The coronavirus pandemic has also had an impact, with the initial suspension of the scheme and associated impacts to the recovery of any PCNs, and we have allowed people more time to pay fines and interact with us given the impacts the pandemic has caused for many.’

‘We want to make clear however that those with non-compliant vehicles who do not pay the ULEZ charge will still be fined.’

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