News, West Midlands
A bereaved man claims he was forced to pay £3,000 after Birmingham City Council pursued him for a Clean Air Zone fine incurred by his late father.
Gary Davies told the he felt like an “absolute loser” after he was unable to convince the local authority his father had died.
The 52-year-old roofer said trying to get through to someone to argue his case had been like “talking to a brick wall” and he would now take legal action against bosses.
The council defended its administration of the scheme and said opportunities for challenge were very clearly set out.
The zone was launched in 2021 as part of plans to tackle poor air quality and introduced daily fees for older vehicles driving in the city centre.
A report in January found it had made a “significant” contribution to reducing pollution.
But in the years since its introduction, it has been repeatedly criticised as seemingly innocent people face thousands of pounds in fines.
Others have said it is difficult to get in touch with the local authority to dispute charges, and claimed the council has been unwilling to listen.
Mr Davies, from Tamworth, explained he had to hand over £3,000 when enforcement agents clamped two vehicles outside of his property.
He is yet to get his money back despite supplying a copy of his father’s death certificate, and said the ordeal had made grieving more difficult.
“I was on the phone for two-and-a-half hours one day trying to speak to somebody,” he said.
“It makes you feel like you’re an absolute loser because nobody will listen to you.”
Getty ImagesThe phoned the council’s Clean Air Zone hotline to see how long it would take to get through to someone.
It took half an hour to ascertain which buttons to press to get through to a person, and when we finally managed this, they explained they were only able to offer advice – and told us to go online.
‘Confusing’ system
Cynthia Nodanche said enforcement officers demanded £1,000 after she drove her non-compliant Vauxhall Antara through the Clean Air Zone but forgot to pay.
The 41-year-old executive assistant had only just moved to Birmingham, and claimed her fines ballooned after they were sent to the wrong address.
She said the “confusing” system could discourage people from moving to the city and urged the council to be more flexible.
“I don’t know why they only give you a short timeframe to pay the fine,” she said.
“They should give people notice of one or two weeks more.”
Councillor Majid Mahmood, cabinet member for environment and transport, said the local authority followed a statutory enforcement process for the issuing and enforcement of penalty charge notices.
“A penalty charge notice is sent to the address of a registered keeper of a vehicle based on the information held by the DVLA at the point it is issued,” Mahmood said.
“The opportunities for challenge are very clearly set out at each stage of the process so that anyone issued with a penalty charge notice understands how they can pay or challenge it.”
