A private Dutch company that helps lorry drivers fight fines is launching legal action against Transport for London (TfL) for unlawfully issuing some €7 million in fines to Dutch drivers who have not paid a special charge to enter the English capital’s low-emission zone or Ulez. 

Transport in Nood says its clients have received more than 10,000 fines from TfL through its debt collection agency, the Euro Parking Collection (EPC). And, it says, delays in sending the fines meant drivers could not change their behaviour and avoid penalties. 

It also says the EPC is using an excessively high exchange rate to send the fines in euros, when they should be charged in pounds, according to the Telegraph.

London introduced a £12.50 per day charge to enter the Ulez in April 2019. Drivers who fail to pay face a fine of £180.

“We are launching this claim to get the fines that have already been paid to be repaid, and the court costs. We are talking millions of pounds,” Transport in Nood owner Antonio Oliveira told the paper. 

One driver, who transports flowers to London, had been handed close to 400 fines totalling almost £350,000, he said.

TfL told the paper it had received a claim and is considering its response. Dutch News has contacted Transport in Nood for comment.