Thousands of drivers wake up to unexpected £90 fines due to 'IT glitch'
An IT glitch is seeing thousands of drivers "wrongfully" slapped with Sadiq Khan's Ulez and Congestion charges. Labour Party Mayor Sadiq Khan said the cyber-attack left thousands of Londoners out of pocket across the capital.
Steve McNamara, general secretary of the LTDA, told the Telegraph: "Our phone systems are in meltdown because our members cannot get in touch with TFL. Thousands of my members have been affected by this. We've had over 500 calls this morning alone."
McNamara explained that TFL's Ulez and Congestion Charge databases typically have "whitelists" of licensed black cabs to ensure taxi drivers are not wrongly fined. Towards the end of the week, drivers began receiving automated letters accusing them of wrongly entering the zones.
READ MORE Met Office warns UK will wake up to 'notable' weather shift starting today
The penalties for entering the Ulez without an exemption or payment can be substantial, starting at £90 and doubling to £180 if not paid within 14 days. Speaking out for Transport for London, a spokesperson said: "We are cancelling the penalty charge notices and apologise for any inconvenience caused."
The transport body attributed the issue to an "error with a routine data upload". McNamara warned that members are struggling to get through to TFL “so they're all ringing us and consequently our phones are jumping off the hook... this should not have happened."
Taxis are exempt from paying the congestion charge when actively licensed by Transport for London, official guidance states. A vehicle will be removed from the register of exempt vehicles on the surrender, expiry or revocation of the licence.
McNamara told the BBC: "What happens when you get a penalty charge notice, if you don't deal with it or you don't pay it or you don't respond to it very quickly, it escalates into a higher amount... If you don't deal with them, the next thing you've got is bailiffs knocking on your door."
He added that more than 500 drivers called a helpline that had been established to help this issue get resolved and that many were unable to get through to TfL on the phone.