What do you do when…. you don’t have a computer / internet or mobile phone and need to pay for your ULEZ or Congestion Charge?
To help clear London's air, the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year, except Christmas Day. The zone operates across all London boroughs, and does not include the M25. Other cities have other policies and it is likely that a similar scheme to the one we’re writing about operates with them.
Many of our older clients don’t have touch tone phones, or the internet, so it can be tricky to call up to pay for ULEZ (and also the Congestion Charge). We recently helped a client with this problem set up Auto Pay, and we did this over the phone with her, from our mobile phone, so we had the touch tone facility to get through to the correct department.
With Auto Pay, TFL will bill you automatically for the number of charging days your vehicle travels within the Congestion Charge area and, if it doesn't meet the standards, the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). It’s also available for larger vehicles who have a different scheme (LEZ).
Whether or not you have problems paying each time when you use your vehicle, it’s a great idea to have the Auto Pay anyway as:
· You’ll never forget to pay charges again
· You have protection from receiving Penalty Charge Notices while registered
· You can register multiple vehicles (up to five)
If you do have access online, you can set it up there, but you can also call up to set up an account and register for autopay that way. You then get one bill and the payment is automatically taken for all the journeys in the previous month in one go. You can call TFL to do this on 0343 222 2222.
Any other clean air scheme around the UK will have this option, so it's just a case of getting the number. If you're stuck get in touch and we can help.
Good luck, never get a fine again!
Photo by Miguel Teirlinck on Unsplash