My Porsche is Ulez compliant however TfL pressured me take it off the street

A retired father has revealed that Transport for London pressured him to take his Porsche off the street for 5 months regardless of later discovering out that it was really compliant after studying a MailOnline story.

Alex Fernandes, 74 from Wimbledon, was pressured to take his ‘delight and pleasure’ 2002 Porsche Boxster off the street after the Mayor expanded the Ulez to each London borough in August final yr as TfL‘s checker mentioned his automobile was non-compliant.

He has slammed their ‘deceptive’ guidelines after MailOnline informed him the explanation his automobile was incorrectly branded as too polluting to drive within the capital was as a result of TfL have been unable to search out emissions knowledge for his older automobile.

Mr Fernandes informed MailOnline he was left ‘depressing’ for 5 months as he was unable to drive to see his daughter or go to the docs, with out paying an unaffordable £12.50 a day.

But he was ‘on cloud 9’ after studying that MailOnline reporter Darren Boyle was preventing in opposition to a number of fines – which he later gained – issued for driving his Ulez-compliant and nearly an identical 2002 Porsche Boxster by the capital.

Even after giving TfL the knowledge that proved his automobile met emissions requirements, Mr Fernandes was nonetheless despatched a tremendous for driving his automobile by south west London on February 15.

The motorist was then slapped with yet one more tremendous for driving by London for driving by London on February 24, which he obtained within the submit earlier this week.

After receiving the second tremendous, Mr Fernandes informed MailOnline: ‘I despatched them the main points and crammed within the kind saying my automobile is compliant and it’s kind of annoying to get one other PCN which reveals stance they take so far as fining individuals.

‘They do not actually care, all they care about is getting cash in. It’s irritating, I’ve seen tales the place they do not cancel these items in any respect. I’m 74, I’ve coronary heart drawback and had a quadruple bypass. It’s all this extra stress that I actually do not want.’

He was first issued a Ulez tremendous for driving his Porsche in 2019 after he went to go to his daughter in Wandsworth to choose up medicine, however TfL agreed to cancel it.

After TfL’s on-line checker mentioned his automobile was non-compliant (although it’s) when the zone expanded final August he virtually offered his Porsche. ‘I really marketed it,’ he mentioned. ‘But I assumed to myself ‘no’, because it was breaking my coronary heart to promote it.’

He added: ‘When Ulez got here spherical the remainder of London final yr, I contacted TfL and so they mentioned my automobile was non-Ulez compliant so I took it off the street,’ he mentioned.

Mr Fernandes’ automobile was off the street for about 5 months till he learn how MailOnline’s Darren Boyle proved that his almost an identical Porsche Boxster was Ulez compliant.

All petrol and diesels automobiles registered within the UK from January 1, 2006 and September 1 2015 onwards, respectively, will robotically be compliant with Ulez guidelines as a result of it was unlawful to construct automobiles which weren’t after these dates.

While automobiles constructed earlier than these dates could also be compliant, the DVLA has confirmed to MailOnline that didn’t routinely log the related data on V5C types earlier than 2018.

Ulez laptop programs will robotically cost – after which subsequently tremendous if not paid – drivers of any automobiles that aren’t on the checklist of compliant automobiles once they drive within the zone.

TfL principally makes use of knowledge from the DVLA to examine if a automobile is compliant and whether it is identified to be it’s added to TfL’s register.

But if emissions knowledge doesn’t exist on the DVLA database – equivalent to for older automobiles – then a mannequin will solely be added to the ‘compliant’ checklist if TfL can supply the knowledge from the Vehicle Certification Agency.

TfL has failed to provide a determine on what number of and which fashions it was unable to get emissions knowledge for from the VCA and automobile makers, regardless of a number of requests by MailOnline.

All of those automobiles will likely be assumed to be non-compliant with Ulez guidelines no matter whether or not or not they really are, and drivers must pay £12.50 a day to drive by London or could really feel pressured to promote their automobiles.

Mr Fernandes hit out at TfL for falsely claiming his automobile didn’t meet emissions requirements, saying: ‘It’s positively deceptive, I simply really feel that they do not inform individuals the reality. As far as I’m involved it is only a cash making factor. It’s simply ridiculous.

‘How many different individuals do not know and removed their automobile essentially?’

But even after telling TfL his automobile did meet the emissions requirements, car-lover Mr Fernandes bought a tremendous anyway. ‘I bought the certificates of conformity from Porsche after Darren’s story. I did a photocopy and I despatched it to TfL, and 4 days later I nonetheless bought a Ulez ticket,’ he mentioned.

‘I known as and mentioned I despatched them a factor saying my automobile is compliant – and so they mentioned that the DVLA hadn’t notified them.

‘I had to go surfing and I needed to fill in all the main points on-line and fill in particulars I had from Porsche.’

Despite Mr Fernandes’ and Darren Boyle’s Boxsters being nearly an identical, the knowledge which proved the reporter’s automobile was compliant was not utilized to different automobiles and didn’t immediate TfL to search for clean spots of their compliance knowledge.

TfL says it can solely have a look at particular person automobiles and won’t ‘make a blanket assumption as a consequence of one compliant mannequin variant’.

Mr Fernandes added: ‘My automobile was off the street for five months. I do not use the automobile that usually however I do use it to go and see my daughter and to see my spouse for a bit drive, or to see the physician.

‘It made my life unattainable with out it – my spouse has a automobile that she makes use of on a regular basis for work so I’m and not using a automobile.

‘I believe it’s extremely unfair. If I hadn’t seen Darren’s article I’d have needed to promote the automobile or pay £12.50 each time I went out.

‘It made my life depressing as it’s my delight and pleasure – for me to not use it made me actually actually depressing.

‘But once I noticed the article I used to be on cloud 9 as I may take my automobile out once more. I cannot afford to spend £12.50 each time I take the automobile out.’

A TfL spokesperson mentioned: ‘We are sorry for any inconvenience Mr Fernandes has skilled. We use DVLA knowledge and a spread of printed knowledge from the Vehicle Certification Agency to find out whether or not a car meets emissions requirements. All petrol automobiles registered within the UK from 1 January 2006 and all diesel automobiles registered after 1 September 2015 are robotically ULEZ compliant.

‘Mr Fernandes’ car was deemed ULEZ non-compliant based mostly on the truth that it was first registered in 2001 and that no emissions knowledge was held for it. Mr Fernandes offered proof to show compliance as a part of his illustration in opposition to a penalty cost he had incurred, and we up to date our information accordingly. Mr Fernandes then obtained discover of an extra penalty cost incurred earlier than his illustration was accepted.

‘If an proprietor of a car believes that their car meets the ULEZ normal and so they wish to keep away from paying a cost, they need to contact us and supply us with a replica of the car’s V5C or non-UK equal and a letter from the car producer stating the car’s Euro normal or a conformity certificates.’