LEZ with a Foreign Car

[Spinal]

Howdy,
I have an issue... I'm back in the UK with my Swiss registered car, which is a car. Albeit a 4x4, it's a petrol car.

I tried registering on EPC; to avoid paying the £200 per day to drive here (as it's a petrol car, so no subject to LEZ); but this got rejected. No explanation why, and no number to call or email address to appeal.

Does anyone have ideas on how to get this sorted? Kinda sucks having to pay the LEZ fee while I'm here...

I attached the "carte gris" (Swiss equivalent of the V5, and on a second picture of a closeup of the euro rating (B6b). Further, there's a 0343 number on the LEZ website... but of course, that doesn't work from a foreign mobile.

M.

 

[Dippo]

Cars are not subject to the LEZ, only the ULEZ. That's according to the registration page.

Euro Parking Collection Plc

 

[Spinal]

I fully agree - but how do I get EPC to agree? On the tfl site, I am getting charged £200 per day for the car “until I register it as LEZ exempt on EPC”.

EPC stated that my car is not LEZ exempt (in an automated email when I uploaded the cars details) and thus I need to pay…

Also - that’s the pdf/print and mail registration link you have. When you register, there is an online one that includes cars in the drop down list…

 

[Spinal]

As they say, an image says 1000 words

 

[st13phil]

Did you already check your car on the TfL site and find that they think it’s not exempt?

Check vehicle link for foreign registered cars here:

Check your Vehicle

tfl.gov.uk

 

[Spinal]

Did you already check your car on the TfL site and find that they think it’s not exempt?

Check vehicle link for foreign registered cars here:

Check your Vehicle

tfl.gov.uk

Indeed - but they just say this:

"

We may not hold emissions information for non-UK registered vehicles​

The charges shown will be what you need to pay today.

Vehicles registered with TfL​

If you have registered this vehicle with us, we'll know if the vehicle meets emissions standards and you will be charged the correct amount.

Vehicles not registered with TfL​

If you think this vehicle meets emissions standards and you should not be charged, you'll need to provide us with proof. We will tell you how to do this in the next step.
The charges shown will be what you need to pay today, until you tell us more about this vehicle.
"

I bought a UK SIM yesterday to call them, and the lady at TFL was very friendly. I was basically told I should reach out to the manufacturer to ask for a certificate of conformity and upload that (despite the registration document showing that the car is Euro 6).

When I queried that LEZ doesn't apply to cars, she said that is true - and I shouldn't pay the LEZ charge. She suggested I remove the car from autopay, wait for the fine, and then contest it. I stupidly didn't turn on call recording until the last part, so I got a little bit of her saying "don't pay the LEZ". Tempted to call back, recheck, and record the full call as from what I've seen online, ECP is quite agressive with pursuing the (£1000+) fine...

Looking online, a Certificate of Conformity (COC) takes 20+ days and about £200 to get; I.E. long after the Christmas break... (found a cheaper one from the manufacturer - £100 and 6 weeks).

 

[st13phil]

Sounds like a complete clusterf**k.

I honestly don't know what to suggest to effect an exit from this Kafkaesque situation

 

[rOckyAMG]

Howdy,
I have an issue... I'm back in the UK with my Swiss registered car, which is a car. Albeit a 4x4, it's a petrol car.

I tried registering on EPC; to avoid paying the £200 per day to drive here (as it's a petrol car, so no subject to LEZ); but this got rejected. No explanation why, and no number to call or email address to appeal.

Does anyone have ideas on how to get this sorted? Kinda sucks having to pay the LEZ fee while I'm here...

I attached the "carte gris" (Swiss equivalent of the V5, and on a second picture of a closeup of the euro rating (B6b). Further, there's a 0343 number on the LEZ website... but of course, that doesn't work from a foreign mobile.

M.

It might be easier just to get a rental.

The whole thing is a sh*t show

 

[Dippo]

I don't understand how you got registered to be charged if you're not liable for the charge. How or why did you register?

 

[st13phil]

How or why did you register?

Probably in an effort to "do the right thing". That's why I made the reference to a Kafkaesque situation:

1. Try to "do the right thing"
2. Find out from TfL that you have to register with a third-party to "do the right thing"
3. Third-party refuses to accept evidence that you're exempt from charges even though you are, but...
4. Third-party now has your details to send you fines based on their incorrect assessment that you're not exempt

 

[Spinal]

I don't understand how you got registered to be charged if you're not liable for the charge. How or why did you register?

If you don't register, you cannot pay the £200 a day charge... and then get a £1000 "fine" at home a few weeks later (there are MANY reports of this online). In fact, on average, they send 20,000 fines per year to foreign plated cars that have not registered to pay: FOI request detail

The real challenge is that ECP (third party) adminster the system... and collect the fines. So it's in their interest to reject your car. I called them too this morning, and they lady on the phone was going through the "do you want to pay a fine, do you want to contest a fine, etc" options... at the end, she said she couldn't help me, and that someone would call me back. So far, no callback...

It's a wonderful system - and it targets non-residents, so complaints aren't that easy.

 

[Flyinspanner]

Jeez, for that price you could probably get a limo in, read the paper in the back, and be stress free!