Urgent warning to drivers over ULEZ zone scam which could see you conned out of £1,000s
MOTORISTS are being warned of a ULEZ scam which could see them conned out of thousands.
Using bogus adverts, con artists mimic the Transport for London website and falsely promise drivers that paying out will make them exempt from ULEZ fees.
Such ads have since been taken down by Google, The Telegraph reports.
But many drivers have already been snared by fake websites promising drivers they will avoid the £12.50 daily charge if they pay.
Bobby Sharp, 65, paid scammers £17.50 on two occasions to drive her non-compliant diesel to London’s Chelsea Flower Show in May.
She was left with £540 in fines owed to TfL and said she felt “ill” when she found out she’d been scammed.
She told the BBC: “TfL have not made it easy. Their official site is not user friendly, whereas the scammers’ was so easy.”
From Tuesday, a wider Ultra Low Emission Zone came into force.
Drivers of some older vehicles entering the capital have to pay a daily charge of £12.50.
As a general rule, most petrol cars made before 2006 and Diesel cars produced before 2015 will have to pay the ULEZ charge.
So far most of the 2,750 ULEZ cameras have been installed – despite hundreds being damaged by vigilante groups who are targeting the cameras being put up around London.
Transport for London (TfL) said vandalism was “unacceptable” and “all incidents are reported to the police for investigation”.
ULEZ is expected to cost taxpayers £140 million.
A spokesman for TfL said: “Payments for our road user charging schemes should only be made through the official Transport for London website.
“Unfortunately, internet search engines don’t always suggest the official TfL Pay to Drive web page at the top of their search results.
“This means that people may be offered a link to an unofficial payment site, which can often overcharge.
“We are sorry to hear of any customers that may have been caught out in this way.
“Where someone has been fined in relation to one of these cases, we do look at their circumstances and do show discretion where appropriate.”